Wednesday, July 02, 2008 Queensland says it didn't know about reclamation law By Grace L. Plata
THE owner of Queensland Hotel finally broke his silence on the alleged illegal reclamation project in Matina Aplaya, saying he wasn't aware that regulations abound in reclaiming land from the sea.
In a lengthy letter to the City Council coursed through Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Queensland owner Teodorico Adarna said he aims to finally set the record straight on the issue and to relieve himself of the "sleepless and anxious nights brought about the hateful attacks" of members of the City Council who said they are going to pursue the case against Queensland.
Councilor Ma. Belen Sunga-Acosta, then Acting Mayor, and Vice-Mayor Sara Duterte said last week that during the meeting of the City Council with Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) chief Andrea Domingo, they agreed that the confiscation of the area reclaimed by Queensland will be taken in favor of the city and PRA with the help of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Adarna in his letter said: "Queensland has been very apologetic to the government for its unintentional violation of certain laws governing the creation of land from the sea by way of reclamation."
He added that Queensland was not aware or was it informed earlier about the existence of a central clearing house for reclamation projects based in Manila until the PRA sent notices of violation to Queensland.
This, he said, is also the case with other entities that have reclaimed portions of the shorelines without the approval of PRA.
According to Adarna, Queensland has been trying its best to fully comply with the requirements of PRA since receiving the Cease and Desist order in October 2007. This includes the project study and environmental assessment to be submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural resources.
"Preparations of such studies require considerable length of time to complete," Adarna said.
He said t Queensland also has a pending application for building/development with the City, which was filed on March 3.
"It is still pending on reasons that PRA approval should be first secured. PRA, on the other hand, requires the approval of the project by the city before taking appropriate action on our application for the legalization of the illegally reclaimed land," Adarna said.
He added: "We have been trying our best to comply with governmental requirements but sad to say, this was never mentioned to recognize our efforts to show our good intentions."
According to Adarna, Queensland needs to secure clearances of government agencies and people organizations in the area, as well as the City Council endorsement, in order to get the PRA approval.
Adarna also addressed the matter of waste disposal, which according to him has been made a big issue by members of the City Council.
"The motel facility is provided with a waste water treatment. We are prepared to show interested parties of said facility. The small concrete pipe shown by the media discharging water to the sea is the line draining seawater from the foot of David's tower where the sharks are being raised in captivity. The seawater being discharged is not waste water," Adarna said.
He added that the developments made in the area are geared towards making it a tourist attraction. Thus, they are asking for the chance to present their project.
"Queensland has big plans for Times Beach. It envisions two sites: Queensland 1 (present site) and Queensland 2 (in Punta Dumalag). Both will require reclamation from the sea directly fronting the titled properties owned by the company. It will be the site of, among others, a mini-forest, a mangrove forest, and other eco-tourism development features right in the middle of the sea," Adarna said.
He also said careful planning and project site assessment will be done in order to minimize negative impact on the environment.
