Boljoon council green-lights DPWH Ili Rock projects

The Boljoon municipal council yesterday passed  two resolutions supporting projects of  the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the town’s  Ili Rock cliff and reclamation of its seashore.

The legislation gives the DPWH the green light to proceed with the slope benching of Ili Rock which was initially opposed by fisherfolk and residents worried about the impact on their heritage and marine environment.

Vice Mayor Alfredo Awe said the resolution on the reclamation will be sent to the Cebu Provincial Board for approval.

Officials from the DENR Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) yestereday briefed the council on the need to  do  mitigating measures to prevent landslides in Ili Rock. During a second public consultation last Friday,  residents were told  DPWH will plant trees after carving out step-like terraces on the limestone cliff.

The DPWH requested the council’s support to continue with work on both the slope benching of Ili Rock and “shore protection” in an 8,000 square-meter area in the Poblacion.

“The protesters have toned down after hearing the explanation from DPWH on the need to do the project. The fishermen were also assured that they will not be displaced and that they will still have a place to dock their boats,” Awe told Cebu Daily News.

However,  in a separate interview, he said residents will have to transfer to  a lot  donated by the Archdiocese of Cebu in an upland barangay because they were told by District Engineer James Dellosa that the road would be used as an alternative road for north-bound trucks.

“If that’s the case, the houses will be at the center of the road. That’s why we need to relocate them but we need to formalize the relocation site and prepare the development plan for the lot donated by the church,” Vice Mayor Awe said.
Shore protection

Dellosa said  the 20-meter-wide reclamation project that would cover the white sand cove of sitio Talisay will protect the shoreline, the national road, the community and the Patrocinio de Maria hurch in the event of a storm surge.

“It’s shore protection, not a reclamation,” Dellosa was quoted saying several times.

Previously, Marlon Marollano of DPWH 4th District planning and design section said the reclaimed lot may be used for a park or a processional route.

But Awe said Dellosa told them last Friday that the lot may be used as the alternative road for vehicles going north.

This  makes about 15 houses near the shore vulnerable to eviction.

Gloria Estenzo-Ramos, vice president of Oceana Philippines, said proponents of the project must learn to comply with all the necessary documents and requirements  before implementing the project.

“There should be a plebiscite required for constituents to vote whether they agree to the change of the boundaries in the town or not. They cannot also use the reason of “climate change mitigation” to implement the project when they are destroying the corals, sea grass that naturally help protect the coast from erosion. And if the sea biodiversity is destroyed what will the fishermen fish? Food security should be a priority,” Ramos said.

“People no longer see the need to protect our environment, our ecosystem. We have to take care of them because they are life in itself,” Ramos continued.

Related Stories:

Boljoon town to decide: Sandy shore or reclamation?

Boljoon residents’ outcry heard

Boljoon’s ‘Ili Rock’ Vanishing

Potential Unesco honor for Boljoon