City of Naga to reclaim 140 has. of foreshore lands
The City of Naga will reclaim around 140 hectares of its foreshore areas for commercial and industrial use that will include a wide road parallel to the existing highway to solve the lingering traffic problem in the south of Cebu.
Former mayor Valdemar Chiong said that they don’t need to ask permission from the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and Cebu Province because they have the authority to reclaim foreshore areas, as mandated by its city charter.
The City of Naga has the same category to the cities of Danao and Mandaue where local government units (LGUs) have the authority to reclaim foreshore lands.
The late Mandaue City Mayor Alfredo “Pedong” Ouano was able to construct the North Reclamation Project with F.F. Cruz Construction Corp. without the PRA permit.
He noted that the Baywalk Area, which is reclaimed, has no permit from PRA but the project has complete requirements such as environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), among others.
Chiong said the reclamation will be at the foreshore areas of Barangays Colon Tuyan, Inayagan and North Poblacion.
He said that he told lawyer Janilo Rubiato, PRA chief executive officer and general manager, to incorporate highways to any reclamation projects from the City of Naga to southern Cebu.
“We envision an island type of reclamation detached from the mainland to avoid accusations that we destroyed the waterways,” Chiong said. /