CEBU CITY (March 20, 2024) – The Cebu Port Authority faces another suit for building structures at the port area near City Hall. 

The City lodged this afternoon a complaint before the regional office of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) against CPA and its contractor, A. T. Tan Construction Corp.

This comes on the heels of the Office of the Building Official (OBO) filing multiple criminal and administrative complaints on March 15 against CPA officials before the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas.

With assistance from the City Legal Office, Reymarr Z. Hijara, acting head of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), represented the city in the complaint.

𝙁𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜. Acting City Attorney Carlo Vincent Gimena (center, left) and CCENRO officer-in-charge Reymarr Hijara (center, right) show the received copies of the complaint they filed against the Cebu Port Authority before the Environmental Management Bureau and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Flanking them are city lawyers Eleodoro L. Diaz IV and Manuel F. Degollacion II. | 📷 PIO / Allan Cuizon

Hijara claimed the CPA and its contractor built a deck facility at the port area near City Hall without any Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from EMB nor the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

He asserted that failure to secure an ECC is a violation of Section 4 of Presidential Decree 1586, or the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System.

An ECC refers to the document EMB issues that allows a proposed project to proceed to the next stage of project implementation, which is the acquisition of approvals from other government agencies and local government units.

Hijara said he found out that CPA failed to secure an ECC for the project after he checked with EMB’s online records.

He appealed to EMB to impose sanctions against CPA and the contractor, and further issue a cease and desist order to “prevent grave or irreparable damage.”

Project ruins historic, tourism value

Hijara said the site of CPA’s project is situated in an area with a unique historic interest and happens to be an aesthetic tourist spot.

He said it is constructed behind the National Museum of the Philippines – Cebu (formerly the Malacanang sa Sugbo) and along the promenade of Plaza sa Katawhan that tourists visit due to its unique scenery during sunrise and sunset.

Illegal fencing. Personnel from the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) remove the steel fence they put up at the seaside area near Compania Maritima in Sept. 28. / 📷 File

“Unfortunately, the construction being done by the respondents is very near to and just to the right of the Plaza sa Katawhan,” he said.

He also noted that city residents swim and fish in the area and feared the project will affect the water quality.

“The construction and the eventual use of the wharf will change water flow patterns in the area and will also result in water quality degradation,” Hijara said.

“The activities therein will introduce pollutants which is toxic to marine life and will disrupt natural processes and aquatic habitats,” he added.

𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. OBO head Arch’t. Florante Catalan (left) signs the complaint he will file against the Cebu Port Authority before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas. Assisting him is acting city legal officer Atty. Carlo Vincent Gimena (right). | 📷 File

Hijara told Cebu City News that the complaint he filed against CPA is “pivotal” in protecting the city’s coastal waters from destruction.

“We see that the ramifications of such unauthorized development not only infringed upon the regulatory and compliance aspects of development, but also potentially jeopardized the environmental sustainability and sanctity of our coastal areas,” he added.

In its separate complaint last Friday, OBO alleged the CPA proceeded with its port extension project without any building permit, acting beyond its charter and the National Building Code. | PPRMN / jkv

City files complaint vs. CPA over ‘illegal construction’