Townsfolk oppose ‘hatchery’ project

By March 23, 2015Headlines, News

THREAT TO PATAR BEACH

BOLINAO— After successfully stopping the construction of a cement plant here in the 90s, this time the townsfolk are bracing themselves for a legal battle to oppose the establishment of a commercial ‘feedmix’ hatchery plant in Barangay Patar, an area that has been declared an eco-tourism zone.

Leading the opposition is Margaret Celeste, chairperson of the Bolinao Concerned Citizens Inc. (BCCI), who raised the issue in social media while the issue is being discussed in the municipal council.

Celeste alleged that the project proponent, Feedmix Specialist Inc., has already started the construction of big building without securing a building permit.

“When the village officials inquired, they were told it will be a Feedmix hatchery project,” she said in her post.

At the hearing conducted by the sanggunian bayan last Friday, representatives of Feedmix apologized to the city government for failing to secure building permit.

Also, not one of the Patar brangay officials that endorsed the project appeared at the hearing to affirm their endorsement .

Celeste charged that the company will likely destroy the Bolinao’s pristine beach just to make its profits since this early it doesn’t even care to observe the town’s ordinance requiring establishments to secure a building permit.

Her group will present its formal opposition before the town council next week.

The BCCI head also posted copies of technical comments solicited from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Region 1 and the Bolinao Marine Laboratory (BML) on the project proposal.

The document of DENR-EMB Region 1, dated September 20, 2013, to the request of the local government unit of Bolinao for technical opinion regarding the project stated that the project will “extensively use coastal waters for various stages of its operation.”

It noted, “The hatchery is estimated to produce a daily wastewater of 70-80 cubic meters, and 12-13% of their solid waste is non-biodegradable and non-recyclable. The proponent is also projecting an influx of local and international tourists which might as well contribute to the rapid accumulation of solid waters in the municipality.”

This remark was supported by the Deputy Director of BML, Ronald Villanueva, in his technical comments on the project development and management plan of “The Hatchery”- Eco-Learning Adventures, a Corporate Social Responsibility Project by the Research and Development Team of Feedmix.

BML is the official marine station of the Marine Science Institute (MSI) of the University of the Philippines (UP)

He said the daily discharge of 70-80 cubic meters of wastewater can have “significant effects on coastal water salinity of Patar’s coastal waters despite the water treatment facility that will supposedly be built.”

“The proposed organisms to be produced at the facility include freshwater (e.g., tilapia) and seawater (e.g., bangus) species. However, there is lack of information regarding how seawater will be sourced and discharged,” he also noted.

Villanueva also noted the disparity in the plan since the proposed total lot area to be used for the project is 34,609 square meters, but the lease contract for the proposed site indicates a smaller area, only 25,280 square meters.

The BML official also noted that the proposed site is within the ecotourism zone by

virtue of Sangguniang Bayan Resolution no. 2005-60, dated October 12, 2005, declaring Barangays Ilog-Malino and Patar as “special eco-tourism area” in the municipality.

“The declaration should abate further proliferation of illegal encroachment to the salvage zone/beach areas, and will facilitate availment of tourism priority projects and programs of the Department of Tourism for the eventual improvement of the fast becoming tourist destinations in the municipality,” the resolution stated.

“Even the technical people are one with us on their concerns which you will read on the documents…We do not oppose without studying the matter,” Celeste said. (Johanne Macob/Tita Roces)

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