EMBARKING on land reclamation projects is one of the proposed strategies for Cagayan de Oro City to belong to the list of metropolis areas in the country.
City Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya said Luzon, Cebu, and other neighboring cities are already undertaking reclamation projects to extend borders and walls, and in the long run, for urbanization.
“If we have reclaimed properties in Gusa, Lapasan, Bonbon, Bayabas, Bulua, and according to the city mayor, why not raise the earth in Punta Bonbon, that we can also gather no less than 60 hectares. The city should take the lead in working this out,” he said
Under Presidential Decree No. 1084, land, including foreshore and submerged areas, may be the subject of a reclamation project. Reclamation includes dredging, filling, or other means, and acquiring reclaimed land.
In Republic v. City of Parañaque, the Supreme Court held that reclaimed lands are reserved lands for public use. Ownership of reclaimed lands remains with the State unless withdrawn by law or presidential proclamation from public use.
However, while efforts are being exhausted by the city government to achieve this, the repeated urban flooding is not helping in working towards this goal, the councilor said.
“This has made the city a swamp due to outburst of drainage system, creeks, and riverbanks causing flooding,” Nacaya said.
“Solutions were proposed and discussed, and some are already in the process of working through it but in the meantime, we are still being flooded. We need to see beyond the concerns and problems besetting the city,” he added.
While this “seemed like a good plan,” Francisco Pagayaman, spokesperson of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap–Northern Mindanao Region (Kadamay-NMR), cautioned the city that reclamation projects could mean displacement of residents.
Pagayaman said the city government should be ready for a plan, particularly preparing relocation sites for the residents who will be affected with reclamation projects.
“Dili lang unta plano para mas mo-tsada ang syudad ang atimanon nila, kundili apil pud ang mga panginabuhian, ang mga katawhan nga mga kabus na mao gyud ang una maapektuhan sa mga reklamasyon (The city should not only plan how to make the city attractive, but they should also include in their plan the livelihood, the poor people who will be affected in reclamation projects),” he added.
Early this year, President Rodrigo Duterte has created a development road map that will strengthen regional centers and see the rise of Cagayan de Oro City as the country’s fourth economic center.
Metro Cagayan de Oro will be established by 2025, joining Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao, according to a draft of the National Economic Development Authority’s Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.