A BOAT camping site, souvenir shops and a mangrove park are among the coastal tourism projects that the Municipality of Cordova will undertake to give residents environment-friendly livelihood options and tourists a sustainable destination to visit.
This was what architect Buck Sia, president of the United Architects of the Philippines, said during his presentation Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, at the Cordova Sports Complex.
Sia said the mangrove park development, which will be undertaken through a private-public partnership (PPP), is seen to boost the fish and marine life in the coastal waters of the town.
He also cited the development of a public beach with comfort rooms and shower rooms, parking area, a boat dock or terminal, and a waste treatment facility among the coastal tourism projects that the local government of Cordova plans to pursue.
As for the floating cottages in the town, which have yet to make a return after their operations were stopped, they will return after their design has been determined.
In line with this, registered and licensed Filipino architects who can collaborate with designers, registered environmental planners, and registered sanitary engineers, are invited to join the design competition for the floating cottages in the coastal waters of Cordova.
"We'd like to create an ideal situation nga naa gyu'y (where there is) collaboration, team work ni siya. Dili ra (Not only the) architect, dili ra (not only the) engineer. Atong pangitaan og paagi nga unsa gyud ilahang i-resolve para sa atoang (We'll find a way to address what needs to be resolved for our) proposed ecotourism facility," said Sia.
He said their objectives are to come up with an idea with authentic and innovative designs for the floating structures to promote ecotourism as well as a solution that has the criteria of design ingenuity, environmental consciousness and a well-engineered system.
The architect said they want to provide responsible ecotourism livelihood to the people not just from Cordova but also from the other parts of Cebu and the Philippines.
With the proposed ecotourism facility, Sia said local officials want to ensure responsible tourism, better livelihood, sensitivity to the environment and proper hygiene and sanitation.
Sia and world-renowned industrial designer Kenneth Cobonpue were tapped by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia for the competition, which will be launched in the first quarter of next year, particularly for the "Cordova Ecotourism Redevelopment" project.
"Kinahanglan original. Dili ta mangopya lang (It must be original. We will not merely copy)," said Cobonpue, adding that he himself would not be a world-class designer if he copied the outputs of others.
Cordova Mayor Cesar Suan said they want the town to be a model of tourism in the country, which is why they tapped international designers.
Suan assured the stakeholders that they will prioritize those who earlier owned the cottages for its management while those who just managed but not owned such will be prioritized for the planned kiosks or stores.
The mayor said the public need not worry, considering that they plan to establish a free-for-all public beach within the 33-hectare foreshore area.
Dasig Sugbo
On Wednesday, the Cebu Provincial Government, led by Garcia, distributed Dasig Sugbo cards to around 200 owners and operators affected by the closure of the fixed and floating cottages in the town.
The value stored in each of the digital cards, which is a Christmas gift from the Cebu Provincial Government, is P10,000, which the card holders can redeem in the form of basic goods and other necessities from the Capitol's partner-merchants.
The affected stakeholders earlier received P10,000 from the Capitol to use for the voluntary demolition of their structures on the foreshore of Barangays Poblacion and Catarman in Cordova.
"Hayag ang kaugmaon dinhi sa Cordova kon magtinarong lang ta. Way kumo kon magtinarong ta. Ang gangsa nga nangitlog og bulawan, unsa man ni nga gangsa? Kini ang malimpyo nga kadagatan. Dili na nato patyon," said Garcia.
("The future here in Cordova will be bright if we just do the right thing. There's no harm in doing it right. The goose that laid golden eggs, what is this goose? This is the clean ocean. We will not kill it.")
Demolition
On Sept. 21, 2022, Garcia issued Executive Order 36 ordering the demolition or removal of illegal structures, such as floating and fixed cottages within the coastal waters of the Municipality of Cordova, after SunStar Cebu's special report revealed the illegal practice of throwing septic waste into the ocean by some of Cordova's floating cottage operators.
Earlier, Garcia had already ordered operators of Cordova's floating and fixed cottages to temporarily stop their operations by Aug. 29, 2022 to facilitate the rehabilitation of Cordova's coast that was found to have been heavily affected by pollution allegedly caused by the unregulated establishment of such cottages.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Central Visayas had said a water quality check in Cordova's coastal waters on Aug. 10 showed the fecal coliform level (FCL) along areas where fixed and floating cottages were present to be 2,400 most probable number (mpn) per 100 milliliters.
The standard FCL for coastal waters to consider them safe for swimming and other similar recreational activities is 100 mpn per 100 milliliters, according to the DENR.
