A city government official said that a key project is necessary to ensure that the air pollution in the city is minimized, if not totally eliminated.
Engr. Jose Froilan T. Rigor of the City Planning and Development Office said the P30 billion monorail project needs to be implemented to reduce greenhouse gases, gases considered as harmful to the environment as it is among the factors that destroy the ozone layer which protects the atmosphere from ultraviolet rays of the sun.
This developed as the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners has also pushed for the ensuring that the Matina Shrine Hills is maintained as a protected area.
Arch. Leonida Santos, immediate past president of the organization said the Shrine Hills must not be overdeveloped because its soil is “generally made up of corals, there are many voids underneath, and corals are not stable when it rains.”
Santos said that declaring the area as protected “doesn’t mean that you cannot do anything to the area, you can still make the area productive, as there are many ways to make a protected area productive.”
Rigor said the city government has approved the implementing rules and regulation of the Urban Ecological Enhancement Zone which identifies Shrine Hills as a special zone.
Under the zone declaration, only 20% of the area can be developed while the remainder will be planted to trees and other initiatives needed to preserve the environment.
On the monorail project, which the Udenna Corp. of young city-based tycoon Dennis Uy submitted as an unsolicited proposal, will help reduce vehicles plying the city streets, particularly cars and jeepneys.
The idea, he said, is to set up transit-oriented communities, places which will discourage the people to use their cars. As an example, if one goes to a nearby city, instead of using his car, he will use mass transport like bus and monorail because of the convenience.
By Michaella D. Nuenay and Cyril Gojar/JMC interns
