By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

During a meeting with outgoing Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr., Governor-elect Eugenio Jose Lacson said, due to pending resolutions surrounding legal issues, the $300 million ship recycling project in Hinoba-an’s Barangay Bacuyangan is suspended.
While Marañon has requested the Negros Occidental Provincial Board to pass proposed resolutions granting him the authority to apply for an environmental compliance certificate, along with other related clearances, his successor said there are currently legal issues surrounding the 150-hectare piece of land in the said barangay.
Lacson said, despite the provincial government spending three years to acquire the property, they have yet to clear the area as there are still 18 homes on the land.
“In the future, when the property has been cleared both of structures and legal issues, maybe they will return,” he noted.
Last year, Marañon sought an endorsement from the Provincial Board to enter into and sign a foreshore lease agreement, a type of agreement made with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as it pertains to certain developments on land bordering bodies of water, with regard to an alternative port at the town’s Sitio Dalaguet.
Green Alert Network-Negros Island and its allied organizations opposed the facility, claiming 15,000 mangroves would be cut down to pave the way for the project. In addition, they said coral, sea grass, and the livelihoods of the community would also be affected.
In response to the promises of new jobs, the environmentalist group said, “This can only promise us a cheap-paying job in tough and dangerous conditions.”
They also noted, citing research regarding ship recycling yards in other countries, workers and the public are often exposed to health and environmental hazards./DGB, WDJ