MANDAUE CITY, Philippines – Despite agreeing to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to develop the proposed Mandaue North Reclamation Project (MNRP) together, the Mandaue City government would still like to iron out differences in opinion it has with the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) regarding the project.
Councilor Victor Biaño has asked the city’s executive department to seek judicial intervention to settle these differences, which has caused the MNRP project to be put on hold for seven years.The conflict of opinion revolves around Mandaue City’s foreshore lands. The PRA insists that because all foreshore lands in the country are owned by the state, the MNRP should not have started without the body’s approval.
City Hall, however, insists that it does not need PRA approval to develop the MNRP because Republic Act 5519 – the Mandaue City Charter – states that all foreshore and underwater lands in the city belong to the city government.
Only one other Philippine city has a similar provision.
The MOA that Mayor Jonas Cortes intends to enter into with the PRA will only cover phase one of the MNRP project, covering around 81 hectares.
The City Council’s committee on laws, which Biaño heads, recommended that before phase two is started, the conflicting stands of the city government and the PRA should be resolved.
The proposed MNRP involves the reclamation of 295 hectares of foreshore and submerged areas within Cansaga Bay along the waters off the villages of Umapad, Paknaan and Labogon.
Since the start of the project in 2001 during the term of former Mayor Thadeo Ouano, around 80 hectares had been reclaimed before the project was stopped due to the disagreement between the city and the PRA. /Reporter Dale G. Israel |
