China-funded Samal-Davao bridge risks environment, may have bypassed approval: critics | ABS-CBN

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China-funded Samal-Davao bridge risks environment, may have bypassed approval: critics

China-funded Samal-Davao bridge risks environment, may have bypassed approval: critics

Izzy Lee,

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated Oct 01, 2024 07:21 PM PHT

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Construction progresses on the Samal Island-Davao City Connector (SIDC) Project on the Samal side. Photo by Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Island Garden City of Samal or Samal Island in Davao del Norte boasts having once been an unspoiled vacationer's haven with its calm, emerald-green waters, powdery white sand, and vibrant aquatic life.

Among its many attractions is Paradise Reef, also known as Coral Garden, a famous snorkeling and diving site along the beachfront of Paradise Island resort, where tourists swim among various kinds of corals, colorful fish, giant clams, and other marine life.

But the reef will be wiped out by the construction of the four-kilometer Samal Island-Davao City Connector Project (SIDC) bridge, environmentalists and marine scientists say. The P23-billion project will be funded by a loan from the Government of China. Although the SIDC is a project of the Department of Public Works and Highways, it will be implemented by the Chinese contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation. 

While touted to speed up travel between Davao City and the island, the project has become controversial not only because it goes against environmental laws preserving protected areas like Samal Island and affects the livelihood of fishing communities that depend on it.  

Davao, where the bridge will be implemented, is the home region of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who during his term opened the door to Chinese involvement in Philippine infrastructure.  

And because it was a project Duterte himself pushed, environmentalists say the government fast-tracked the approval process to get it off the ground quickly.

DESIGNATED PROTECTED AREA

The pristine waters of Samal Island showcase vibrant hues of green and blue. Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN News

Samal Island falls under the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act of 1992 which preserves the island's ecosystem. The NIPAS Act restricts certain activities to prevent environmental degradation of protected areas. 

Carmela Santos, director of the local environmental organization Ecoteneo, wonders how the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) could have approved a bridge project in Samal Island, the whole of which is a protected area, officially designated as a Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve under Presidential Proclamation No. 2152 in 1981.

"DENR knows na protected area ‘yong buong Samal Island. Sinira na nila ‘yung malaking bahagi dun nung area from their pre-construction activities," she said.

(DENR knows that the whole of Samal Island is a protected area. They destroyed a big part of their pre-construction activities.)

The DENR issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to the DPWH in April 2021, allowing construction in areas outside the protected zones governed by the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB). The DPWH said the area they are building the bridge in is not within the NIPAS.

“We have to consider that this is outside the NIPAS and this is the most feasible alignment,”  said Dean Ortiz, DPWH spokesperson for Region XI. 

The DPWH had secured all necessary clearances, Ortiz added. 

“We have the endorsements from the concerned local government which will directly benefit from the project. We have the ECC coming from the DENR, all the legalities to back us up,” he said. 

However, just the presence of coral reefs should have stopped the project, because Philippine law bans the destruction of coral ecosystems, environmental law professor Antonio La Viña said.

He noted that even if construction takes place outside the protected area, it is still in a buffer zone where the same restrictions apply. 

“You cannot destroy coral reefs in the Philippines, under any circumstance,” La Viña said.

MARINE ECOSYSTEM AT RISK

The vibrant corals and fish thrive in the waters around Samal Island. Handout/Ecoteneo

The vibrant corals and fish thrive in the waters around Samal Island. Handout/EcoteneoIn a 2021 coral reef assessment, the DENR found the condition of hard corals in the area to be poor, citing sediment and algae coverage as indicators of environmental stress. 

Marine biologist Joey Gatus disagrees with the findings. He argued the DENR’s assessment focused solely on hard corals, which represent only one component of the reef’s overall health.

“Lumalabas using that particular indices, it looks poor kasi hard corals lang ang indicator niya. If you have this hard coral percentage, you're considered poor even though ang ganda ng lugar,” Gatus said.

(It turns out that using that particular index, it appears poor because it only uses hard corals as the indicator. If you have this percentage of hard coral, you're considered poor, even though the area is actually beautiful.)

"When you look at biodiversity, conservation, we look at the whole thing,” he added. “The reef system in front of the resort is the one that's really intact.” 

Gatus pointed to a 2019 environmental study conducted by Dr. Filipina Sotto and her team, which found more than 100 types of coral in the area. The coral reef near Paradise Island was especially rich in different species. 

The study showed that the reefs are mostly in good shape except for two spots—Lomos Beach and the old shipyard known as Bridgeport—where the corals are in poor health. The study recommended changing the bridge's design and moving its landing spot to Bridgeport, where there is less biological production, to reduce harm to the environment.

A 2016 feasibility study conducted by the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) also suggested Bridgeport as the landing site because it is the shortest, cheapest, and has lesser environmental impact.

'MOST ECONOMICAL' LANDING SITES

Tourists enjoy swimming in the crystal-clear waters of Samal Island. Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN News

Despite this, DPWH still chose to build the bridge between Barangay Hizon in Davao City and Barangay Limao in Samal Island, saying these landing sites were the most economical and had the least environmental and social impact. 

The DPWH said it made this decision after evaluating factors such as technical feasibility, financial viability, and economic impact, and after studying four alignment options, including the Central Corridor, which was the subject of the METI feasibility study. 

But Barangay Hizon is a designated marine-protected area and fish sanctuary, as outlined in the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan for 2018-2028.

Santos said it was clear the DPWH studied only one corridor, the Southern Corridor, even if the agency claimed that it studied others. The Southern Corridor was the site that was the most problematic. 

“Marine protected areas sa Davao side 'yung Bgy. Hizon, and dun sa Samal side, 'yun yung natitirang buhay na buhay and flourishing na coral reef,” Santos said.

(Barangay Hizon on the Davao side is a marine protected area, while Barangay Limao on the Samal side is where the remaining vibrant and flourishing coral reefs are located.)

The construction is visible from afar while traversing the waters of Samal Island. Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN News

The vibrant corals and fish thrive in the waters around Samal Island. Handout/EcoteneoExperts cautioned that this might lead to “irreversible,” “irreparable,” and “incalculable” damage to Davao’s coral reef system, making it fully impossible to repair it, even with advanced restoration technology.

Gatus explained that the bridge plan includes footings or base supports for the structure, which means both shallow and deeper areas will be affected. The drilling will also significantly impact these zones, ultimately leading to coral death.

Gatus added that once destroyed, a natural system can no longer be 100 percent restored, whether it be a forest or a coral reef.

The DPWH said they have mitigating measures to lessen the project's environmental impact.

"We have already conducted baseline testing for air, water, and noise, and then we already identified disposal area for soil or sediments,” Ortiz said. 

“And then, we will employ strict solid waste management and there will be sealed controlled procedures during the actual constructions." 

Nonetheless, Gatus is still doubtful, noting that strong currents could carry sediments from the construction site to different areas of the water.

"Did they mention about minimizing or mitigating the sedimentation?” Gatus asked. 

The ones that are firmly attached like the corals, the sponges, shells, giant clams, will be affected by the sedimentation and eventually cause mortality, he said.

Gatus pointed out that the effects will go beyond harming marine life. Fishing communities that depend on the reefs for fish to reproduce might see a drop in their catch, forcing fishermen to go farther away to catch fish.

The DENR has declined to give a comment to ABS-CBN News, citing the ongoing legal case. 

'SYMBOL OF PROGRESS'

China Road and Bridge Corporation, the contractor of the SIDC project. Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN NewsChina Road and Bridge Corporation, the contractor of the SIDC project. Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN News

The SIDC is deeply connected to the political legacy of former President Duterte. As part of his "Build, Build, Build" program, the bridge has been touted as a symbol of progress and connectivity for Mindanao.  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Duterte’s successor, led the groundbreaking of the project’s construction in October 2022.

But La Viña questioned the project's approval process, suggesting it was influenced by politics. He also suggested that project alignment and impact assessment may have been compromised.

“Kailangan tignan ano’ng process finollow sa ECC kung sinunod talaga ang procedure o hindi (We need to check what process was followed in the ECC and whether the procedure was properly adhered to or not),” he said.

“Ang reality diyan that's the favorite project of [former] President Duterte and so malaking bagay 'yun kung bakit nakuha nila itong permits,” La Viña said.

(The reality is that this is former President Duterte's favorite project, which is a significant factor in why they were able to obtain these permits.)

DEVELOPMENT AND EASE OF TRANSPORTATION

The SIDC promises to reduce the transportation time between Samal Island and Davao City to just five minutes from four hours.

Vehicles currently have to be ferried by barge across the sea from Davao City and Samal Island, and vice versa. This crossing, which normally takes only 10 minutes, can take up to four hours during rush hour due to the large number of vehicles queuing to cross.

The bridge is the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) solution to this bottleneck to provide a faster way of transportation and the possibility for economic development.

"This bridge is very important since it will help develop the economic potential of Davao City and the Island City of Samal,” Ortiz said. 

It would also enhance Samal residents’ access to employment, education, and other services, he added. 

TOLL ON LOCAL BUSINESSES

The beachfront of Paradise Island Beach Resort. Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN News

Some locals also support the project, seeing it as an opportunity to boost their earnings.

"Marami tayong ma-guest na gusto na magpunta dito kasi mas mabilis na. So more income po," said Charlie Fuentes, a boatman who provides island hopping tours for tourists.

(We have many guests who want to come here because it's faster now. So, it will generate more income for us.)

The Paradise Reef is located along the beachfront of Paradise Island Resort in Barangay Limao, where the bridge's landing site will be constructed.  The resort owners, the Rodriguez-Lucas family, are concerned about the construction's potential impact on their business.

"It could result to actual closures. My cousins have told me they would have to resort to downsizing," said the resort’s legal counsel Atty. Ramon Rodriguez Lucas. 

“The sludge, the silt, the pollution that will be caused by the said construction, the tourists will not come. That is the reason why they go to Samal, for peace and quiet and fresh and you suddenly would disrupt that.”

Some cottages within a radius of about 50 to 60 metres from the proposed bridge site might have to be shut down because of air and noise pollution which may result in loss of income, Lucas added.

The resort has already filed a petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) with the Supreme Court, but the decision is still pending.

(This story along with a video version was produced through a grant from Internews’ Earth Journalism network through the Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University.)

WATCH THE VIDEO REPORT ON THE SAMAL-DAVAO BRIDGE:







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