DENR stops seawall repair, road project in Argao town

The DENR issued a Ceased and Desist order on the proposed Argao Sports and Recreation Center which the Argao municipal government is starting with its reclamation project in brgy Binlod Argao. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

Environment officials yesterday ordered a halt to the work on a road opening and seawall repair project in Argao town, southern Cebu.

Both government projects lack permits and may block the flow of seawater into a nearby fishpond and damage a mangrove forest, said Floredeliza Geyrozaga, Argao Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer.

The cease-and-desist order was issued against the Argao municipal government after a site visit in sitio Candabong, barangay Binlod by Central Visayas officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“What’s our violation? The lot is owned by the municipality and no mangroves were cut or affected,” said Argao municipal administrator Vip Semilla.

He said the agency may be following a “double standard”.

“We’re only reconstructing our damaged seawall. In fact, Mayor Edcel Galeos has been calling for unity and we’ve been trying to comply with DENR requirements. Why are they singling out government projects? There are other private projects that they don’t look out for. Policies should be implemented across the board,” Semilla said.

DENR-7 said the fishpond in sitio Candabong was classified as a lowland timberland area with 2,734 mangrove trees of different species.

The seawall project, if pursued, will block the flow of seawater into the fishpond and could damage the mangroves, said the agency.

The town also should have secured an Environment Compliance Certificate (ECC) before it started opening a five-meter wide road beside the seawall. The 100-meter-long road was filled with limestone.

Argao is ready to comply with the DENR requirements, said Felix Albarando, Argao’s agricultural and fisheries technologist, who joined the inspection.

Argao is trying to rehabilitate a 160-meter seawall that protects a milkfish (Bangus) sanctuary operated by the Binlod Multi-purpose Cooperative. The seawall is parallel to the Bohol Strait.

“The seawall has been damaged since typhoon Pablo and it worsened after typhoon Yolanda. It has affected the milkfish cages in the fishpond since water flow is not stopped by the seawall,” he said.

The Binlod Multi-purpose cooperative asked town officials to repair the seawall. The P1 million project is funded by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), he said.

The road was opened to allow trucks to haul in construction materials.

Albarando said they really intend to stop the flow of water into the fishpond to prevent any more damage to fish cages of Bangus hatchlings.

“The mangroves won’t die since there is already an entryway for the water perpendicular to the seawall. Before it was damaged, the seawall really blocked the water and the entryway was enough to sustain the mangroves,” he said.

Earlier, Mayor Galeos applied for a permit from DENR to convert a 5.48 hectare area in sitio Candabong, which includes the disputed area, into a municipal Sports and Recreational Center.

The planned center will include an oval, track and field, different sports courts, bleachers.

But DENR 7 Regional Executive Director Isabelo Montejo denied their application for tenure over the land last May 14 saying it was classified as timberland.

An inventory of the mangrove trees in the project site showed there are 2,734 trees that will be affected by the proposed development, Montejo said in his letter to the mayor.

Montejo said that Republic Act 7161 or the Forestry Code prohibits cutting of mangroves, which is also contrary to the DENR’s National Greening Program to preserve, conserve and rehabilitate forest resources.

Mangroves are a spawning ground for fish and trap carbon dioxide, a form of climate change mitigation, he said.

But town officials said the seawall repair is totally different from the proposed Argao Sports and Recreational Center.

“If they won’t allow us to do the project, we won’t push ourselves. If they don’t approve our application, then okay,” Semilla said.

Semilla said they started to repair the seawall as part of post-Yolanda rehabilitation of government structures.