Cojuangco shrugs off seawall fiasco as ‘non-issue’
“IT is an invented issue. There’s no issue. There’s no problem. It’s politics.”
These were the words of Second District Rep. Mark Cojuangco on the controversial initial P75-M seawall project, in an interview with The PUNCH.
The project became the subject of a committee hearing conducted on September 14, 2023, by the provincial board in response to a letter-complaint signed by fishermen submitted to the legislative body.
He noted that while First District Rep. Arthur Celeste was invited by the provincial board to attend the hearing, Cojuangco said he was not.
“Hindi ako naimbita,” Cojuangco said.
And, Gov. Ramon Guico III was there and spoke lengthily during the hearing and vented his ire on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for implementing the project without an ECC approval from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and other clearances.
He said people should look at the motivation (of the protest) as it may be because of the barangay election. He also noted that while the seawall being protested is located in Maniboc, Lingayen, most of the protesters, however, who attended the SP committee hearing came from Binmaley town.
He also pointed out that while fisherfolk are reportedly against it, he said the presidents of fisherfolk groups who are in favor of the project, and those present during the hearing were not allowed to talk.
Cojuangco added that during his consultations in the barangays near the coastline in Lingayen, communities tag the area as ‘water world’ because it easily gets flooded and it takes weeks before the water subsides. “Ang number one daing ng tao dyan is solusyunan ang baha,” he said. (Eva Visperas)
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