SC junks petition vs La Union seaport project

SAN FERNANDO, La Union – The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed a petition filed by a taxpayer against the alleged illegal and unauthorized reclamation intended for a seaport project in Barangay Catbangen here, according to Mayor Pablo Ortega.

“Yes, the Supreme Court dismissed the case because the issues on the project have been settled. (The seaport) is a project for big investments,” Ortega said, adding that the city legal office has received a copy of the SC ruling.

In its decision, the SC denied for lack of merit the petition for a writ of continuing mandamus with prayer for issuance of a temporary environmental protection order filed by a certain Alfredo Tadiar.

Aside from local officials, Tadiar’s petition named Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje and Soiltech Agricultural Products Corp., the project’s proponent, as respondents.

Tadiar alleged in his petition the failure and neglect of public officials to enforce environmental laws to stop the supposedly illegal and unauthorized reclamation project.

He alleged that the reclamation project violated the foreshore lease agreement that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Soiltech forged in August 2011 for the lease of a 5,590-square-meter tract of land for a seaport development project.

Tadiar claimed that he found concrete piles in the area as well as a backhoe and heavy equipment that might be used for construction.

However, by the time Tadiar’s petition was filed, his concerns were already investigated and acted upon by concerned agencies.

Tadiar’s concerns about the project, according to the SC, had been addressed by concerned government agencies, and Tadiar in fact admitted in his report last Jan. 23 that Soiltech had suspended its reclamation activities.

“We find petitioner’s allegation merely speculative. The materials he saw in the work place are consistent with purposes other than reclamation. These are materials used for construction and as such, may be used by Soiltech in any of its construction projects,” the SC said.

Paje confirmed in a memorandum last December that Soiltech had stopped its reclamation activities and was slapped with a P50,000 penalty.