Villarete Asks Council to Prohibit Public Use of all Parts of SRP (June 2006)
The Freeman 06/28/2006
South Reclamation Project manager Nigel Paul Villarete is asking the city council to declare the 296-hectare South Reclamation Project as reserve for current and future use by the city government and prohibits any kind of public use.
In his letter addressed to the city council, Villarete said that the channel separating the SRP from the mainland should remain open and clear, free from obstruction and any impeding structures or improvements.
Villarete said that all parts should be immediately and readily accessible by the city government for clean-up, repairs and maintenance purposes.
"Inasmuch as the channel surrounds and direct abuts the SRP, it is deemed imperative that the city government has direct access and control in case the city needs to establish other management, control, access, or maintenance structures and or improvements anytime in the future," Villarete said.
It is noted, according to Villarete that in Presidential Proclamation No. 843, which declared the SRP as alienable and disposable, and which transferred ownership to the city government, the approved Survey Plan clearly indicated the necessary Salvage Zone as required by law.
The Salvage Zone is intended by law to allow sound urban environmental management of coastal areas and protect these areas from encroachment, Villarete said.
Villarete added that a piece of legislation to that effect, foreshore lease applications, miscellaneous sales applications, fishpond permits, and any other kind of public land uses and applications be prohibited in the area and no applications be approved nor recommended for approval by higher authorities, is also necessary.
The city government of Cebu, through an Official Development Assistance of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation embarked into a major reclamation project in 1995, called the South Reclamation Project, generally located offshore of the south district of the city.
The reclamation works was completed in 2000, the initial horizontal infrastructure development and utilities were implemented, and the SRP was declared as a Special Economic Zone through Presidential Proclamation No. 763, issued on January 20, 2005. - Garry B. Lao
South Reclamation Project manager Nigel Paul Villarete is asking the city council to declare the 296-hectare South Reclamation Project as reserve for current and future use by the city government and prohibits any kind of public use.
In his letter addressed to the city council, Villarete said that the channel separating the SRP from the mainland should remain open and clear, free from obstruction and any impeding structures or improvements.
Villarete said that all parts should be immediately and readily accessible by the city government for clean-up, repairs and maintenance purposes.
"Inasmuch as the channel surrounds and direct abuts the SRP, it is deemed imperative that the city government has direct access and control in case the city needs to establish other management, control, access, or maintenance structures and or improvements anytime in the future," Villarete said.
It is noted, according to Villarete that in Presidential Proclamation No. 843, which declared the SRP as alienable and disposable, and which transferred ownership to the city government, the approved Survey Plan clearly indicated the necessary Salvage Zone as required by law.
The Salvage Zone is intended by law to allow sound urban environmental management of coastal areas and protect these areas from encroachment, Villarete said.
Villarete added that a piece of legislation to that effect, foreshore lease applications, miscellaneous sales applications, fishpond permits, and any other kind of public land uses and applications be prohibited in the area and no applications be approved nor recommended for approval by higher authorities, is also necessary.
The city government of Cebu, through an Official Development Assistance of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation embarked into a major reclamation project in 1995, called the South Reclamation Project, generally located offshore of the south district of the city.
The reclamation works was completed in 2000, the initial horizontal infrastructure development and utilities were implemented, and the SRP was declared as a Special Economic Zone through Presidential Proclamation No. 763, issued on January 20, 2005. - Garry B. Lao