Fishermen at Barangay Day-as, Cordova town start their daily afternoon fishing at a fishing ground which will be affected by the construction of the 3rd Mactan-Cebu Bridge.
CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA
Fisherfolk from Cordova town are opposed to the construction of the third bridge connecting the town to mainland Cebu.
Eleazar Pogoy, spokesperson of Panaghugpong sa mga Mananagat sa Timog Amihan-Cordova (Pamatia-Co), said it would be difficult for fishermen to fish in the seas off Cordova when the infrastructure project starts.
He said that the 8.5-kilometer toll bridge that will link the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City to Barangay Pilipog in Cordova will traverse through one of the rich fishing zones.
The construction of the third bridge is scheduled to start within the year in line with the “Build! Build! Build!” project of the Duterte administration.
Pogoy said that although they acknowledge the importance of the bridge to alleviate the traffic woes in the cities of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Cebu, government should not forsake their livelihood.
Pogoy also decried the P138 billion reclamation project which will cover 1,500 hectares in Cordova.
He said that this will further hurt their livelihood because a vast part of their fishing areas will be affected.
On Thursday, Pamatia-Co joined 31 other fishermen alliances across the province for the fourth congress of the Pinagkaisang Mamalakaya sa Pilipinas (Pamalakaya).
Panaghugpong sa mga Mananagat (Pamana-Sugbu) spokesman Freddie Valendez called for the government to scrap unfair policies for small fishermen.
He said that the government’s order for fishermen to vacate communities in no-build zones within 40 meters from the shorelines is a form of repression towards the small fisher folk.
In Sta. Fe and Madridejos, Valendez said that over 2,000 families face eviction and demolition of their houses which lie within the 40-meter danger zones.
The danger zones were identified after Super Typhoon Yolanda wrecked many households that were built near the shoreline.