VICE Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said March 3 that Negros Occidental Representative Juliet Ferrer (Fourth district) has filed a resolution in the House of Representatives that seeks to investigate the proposed Panay-Guimaras-Negros Bridge project.
Ferrer, husband of Representative Ferrer, said the resolution has been referred to the Committee on Public Works, which will call the attention of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the National Economic Development Authority (Neda).
"The Fourth District will present our position paper that cites studies showing the ideal area for the bridge is either Bago City or Valladolid town," the vice governor said.
Ferrer said that during the presentation of the DPWH at the meeting of Provincial Development Council, it was said that they did not choose Bago City because of the presence of mangroves and dolphins in the area.
In the proposed area in Valladolid sea wall, he said "we will not damage anything."
"We can reclaim the area and put up an economic zone that will spur economic growth in the town and surrounding areas," he said.
He said they are pushing Valladolid as an "option or alternative that Neda and DPWH should consider."
"I believe that Neda already approved the project but they are still open for alternatives because it is still at the study stage," Ferrer said.
"We are supporting the project which has been proposed since the time of the Marcos administration," he said.
This project is funded by a loan, he added.
Ferrer denied that politics is behind his proposal of Valladolid.
"There is no politics in this move. What we want is for the benefit of majority of the people in the fourth district," he said.
The DPWH reported that the bridge from Guimaras to Negros is estimated to cost P123.8 million and from Panay to Guimaras P65.7 million.
The length of Panay-Guimaras bridge is 13 kilometers, while the Guimaras-Negros bridge is 19.47 kilometers.