A two-year-old online petition to save a marine sanctuary once again made rounds online amid the looming start of a bridge project that can destroy it.
The petition via Change.org, initiated by the Rodriguez family who stewards and owns beachfront properties where the Paradise Reef is located on Samal Island, was updated last September 1.
The reef happens to be located along the chosen final landing site of the China-funded bridge project which costs a staggering P23.039 billion.
In the petition addressed to the city government of Davao, the family sought to realign the construction of the Samal Island-Davao City Connector (SIDC) bridge to another area away from the reef.
“We wrote to DPWH Secretary Mark Villar to realign the SIDC Bridge’s landing site, as wrongfully designed by Ove Arup and Partners Hong Kong Ltd. – Philippine Branch (also known as Arup), in order to protect and preserve the Paradise Reef,” it reads.
The family then stated that it is offering a portion of a property called the Paril Beach Resort as an alternative landing site.
“To avert this enormous threat to the marine environment and food security and certain to cause unabated air and noise pollution to the serene beach areas, the Rodriguez Family has offered to donate to DPWH a portion of El Paril Beach Resort (formerly Lumos Property) as an alternative landing site with much less environmental impact,” they said.
The Rodriguez family also explained that based on a recent marine study, the reef’s marine biodiversity will suffer “irreparable, irremediable, and incalculable damage” if the SIDC bridge pushes through with its original plan.
Davao City itself, moreover, will also be severely affected by the construction.
“Traffic experts have asserted that on the Davao City-side, the location of the land portion for the bridge at Barangay Vince Hizon Sr. will cause horrendous traffic problems,” the family said.
“The precise bridge alignment landing at Paradise Reef will emanate from along heavily traffic-congested R. Castillo St. and Lizada Road near Azuela Cove and South Bay Lumber Co. It will only worsen the terrible traffic conditions at this extremely busy portion of the Daang Maharlika Highway in Buhangin District, especially at peak hours,” they added.
According to the family, “the landing site of the said bridge in Samal Island is the Paradise Reef fronting the beach properties from Paradise Island Park and Beach Resort to Costa Marina Beach Resort.”
“Unfortunately, this landing site in Paradise Reef is home to rich marine life and coral reefs,” they said.
The Rodriguez family has been protecting this reef since the 1930s.
When the news about the project was announced in 2020, they sent letters to different government agencies to revisit the resolution endorsing it, citing the chosen landing site will destroy a marine sanctuary.
They also launched this online petition in September of that year to gather signatures from the public to strengthen their appeal to the government.
This initiative resurfaced anew after Facebook user Eco Teneo shared photos that showed the rich biodiversity of the reef.
In his post, Teneo said that he did a “confirmation dive” to see how much life thrives on the coral reefs.
The online petition seeking 2,500 has so far garnered over 1,600 signatures.