The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) warned that the billion-peso causeway project in Tacloban City may damage Cancabato Bay mangrove belts that were painstakingly rehabilitated by fisherfolk after 2013’s Typhoon Yolanda.
The farmers’ federation said the 2.56-kilometer construction project destroys natural storm barriers and fish nurseries vital to the fishing industry and may displace at least 500 coastal families in the area.
“Farmers and fisherfolk rebuilt what the government abandoned after Yolanda. Now, the same (Ferdinand) Marcos Jr. government is demolishing their work for the profit of cronies and contractors,” said Ronnie Manalo, KMP secretary general.
Already costing P4.59 billion pesos, the Tacloban Causeway Project is being implemented by controversial Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation owned by fugitive and former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co.
Co was erstwhile ally of Tacloban City Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and served as chairperson of the powerful House of Representatives appropriations committee in the first three years of the Romualdez speakership.
Authorities have called for a full investigation into the much-delayed project, including suspicions of serious irregularities, questionable payments, missing documents, and the lack of transparency from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The 2.566-kilometer project is envisioned to serve as an alternative route going to the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, located in an isthmus across the bay from Tacloban City proper.
In June 2023, the Tacloban City Council approved a resolution calling on the DPWH to stop construction activities until issues surrounding the project have been cleared.
In August 2024, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also issued a statement of concern on threats the causeway project poses on the preservation and potential growth of the ecosystem in the area.
CHR added that Cancabato Bay is identified as a protected mariculture park in the area and is a major source of livelihood for fisherfolk in Tacloban City.
KMP’s Manalo, a participant in the ongoing international solidarity mission probing human rights violations in Eastern Visayas, said the project is a glaring misuse of public funds and an attack on the poor.
“Every overpriced project and every destroyed mangrove tells a story of injustice against farmers and fisherfolk. The Marcos government must be held accountable for both human rights violations and corruption against the poor.” Manalo said.
KMP demanded the immediate suspension of the Tacloban Causeway project and the criminal prosecution of officials and contractors involved.
“The Marcos Jr. regime’s corruption-driven infrastructure binge deepens poverty, worsens environmental collapse, and fuels people’s resistance,” Manalo concluded. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
