IMAGINE a winding fully concreted road snaking through lush green hills and mountainous terrains, connecting far-flung villages to bustling towns. Meanwhile, a bridge, long thought to be a pipe dream, is nearly complete, and fishers and farmers living in an isolated island would eventually join the value chain.
This is the promise of the P25.26-billion Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project (IGCMRSP), a massive undertaking funded by the Asian Development Bank.
But progress, as it often seems, comes at a price.
This ambitious project, aimed at boosting connectivity and economic growth across Mindanao, involves upgrading 280 kilometers of national primary, secondary, and tertiary roads in Mindanao specifically in Zamboanga Peninsula and Tawi-Tawi.
While undeniably beneficial for trade and travel, the reality on the ground is far more complex.
Take the 24-kilometer Alicia-Malangas Road in Zamboanga Sibugay, for example. This seemingly straightforward road improvement project has had a profound impact on the lives of residents. To make way for wider roads and smoother journeys, hundreds of trees – some decades old, others providing vital shade and fruit – had to be mowed down.
The 24-kilometer Alicia-Malangas Road cuts through five barangays in the municipalities of Alicia and Malangas.
The inventory conducted based on the initial environmental examination and detailed design showed about 10,867 roadside trees chopped down inside the 30-meter Right of Way (RoW). The felled trees belonged to privately owned lands modified for agricultural and coconut production.
Nonetheless, vegetation loss will be compensated through replanting seedlings equivalent to 500,000 trees under the National Greening Program administered by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
At What Cost?
Dr. Reynaldo Navacilla, an environmental planner and environmental impact assessment preparer, paints a sobering picture.
“While replanting is mandated,” he explains, “the reality is that contractors often neglect this crucial step once the project is complete.” This disregard for environmental commitments raises concerns about the long-term ecological consequences of these development projects.
Navacilla said that while replanting is good on paper, experience told them that contractors tend to forget their duties to compensate for the felled trees once they secure their Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECCs).
“That is a mitigating measure, in every tree you cut, you have to plant 10 more, which should be the responsibility of the contractor. But in reality, once the contractor has accomplished (the project), they forget about their responsibility to the Environmental Compliance Certificate,” Navacilla said.
He added that the relaxed enforcement of the agencies oftentimes encourages this complacency, which in turn leads to a host of environmental and ecological problems.
Beyond the loss of trees, the project has also disrupted the lives of local farmers. Muneer Hinay, co-founder of Kids Who Farm, a local NGO, explains how the expansion of roads often encroaches on agricultural land, reducing the area available for food production. This not only impacts the livelihoods of farmers but also threatens the region’s food security.
“The impact that we can see in Zamboanga in the expansion of diversion roads is that it cuts across agricultural lands and eventually lessens the land dedicated to food production,” Hinay told TIMES in a phone interview.
Progress vs. Environment
The Tampilisan-Sandayong Road in Zamboanga del Norte presents a similar story. To improve accessibility and reduce transportation costs, the project necessitates the removal of thousands of trees, including endangered species. While the government emphasizes the economic benefits, the environmental cost is undeniable.
The 15.35-kilometer Tampilisan-Sandayong Road, Zamboanga del Norte (with three bridges) stretches from the junction of the Dipolog-Ipil National Highway and the Sto. Niño barangay road (K1981+490) until it ends in Barangay Sandayong’s road crossing (K1999+065.86) with road toward Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay.
In a 2022 report, Emil K. Sadain, Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations, said upgrading the Tampilisan-Sandayong Road involving a combination of barangay/municipal roads will alleviate poverty through enhancing agricultural, trade, and commercial activities by supporting the movement of people, goods, and services in and out of the communities.
Vegetation will have to be compromised, including perennial crops that comprise 75% of the land use in the area, in favor of reduced transport cost, and improved accessibility,
For instance, the project required the removal of roadside trees and other vegetation (shrubs, grass, agricultural crops, etc.) including 10,494 mature trees, mostly planted on private lands.
A total of 31 stands (referring to a group of trees) belonging to six species were considered either endangered or critically endangered based on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species 2017 and/or The National List of Threatened Philippine Plants (NLTPP) under DENR Administrative Order No. 2007-01.
Of these six species, however, only three were considered endangered or critically endangered based on NLTPP.
Dipterocarpus grandifloras/ Apitong (2 stands), Parashorea malaanonan/ Bagtikan (2 stands), Hopea mindanensis/ Yakal (1 stand), which is endemic in Mindanao given the name, and Shorea contorta/ White Lauan (4 stands) are listed as critically endangered under IUCN.
On the other hand, the Lutiman-Guicam-Olutanga project in Zamboanga Sibugay expects to improve the socio-economic growth and development of Alicia and Olutanga Island.
The project involves improving and widening an existing road with minor realignments, which required roadside tree-cutting, largely affecting fruit trees, fruit-bearing trees, and other common species planted on privately-owned lands (9,087 has.); and forest trees of various species (5,225).
Improving Growth Corridors
IGCMRSP comprises seven road subprojects with a total length of 152.61 km, including 28 bridges and one sea-crossing bridge subproject— the 1.21-kilometer Guicam Bridge—all located in the Zamboanga Peninsula. It also includes constructing three sea-crossing bridges spanning 1,790.66 kilometers located in the Province of Tawi-Tawi.
With the implementation period of March 2019 to March 2027, the core projects were already completed such as the 24-kilometer Alicia-Malangas Road in Zamboanga Sibugay (with eight bridges); 15.35-kilometer Tampilisan-Sandayong Road in Zamboanga del Norte (with three bridges) and the 29.70-kilometer Lutiman-Guicam-Olutanga in Zamboanga Sibugay.
Alteration of Natural Topography = Prone to Soil Erosion
The three core projects—Alicia-Malangas Road in Zamboanga Sibugay, Tampilisan-Sandayong Road in Zamboanga del Norte, and Lutiman-Guicam-Olutanga in Zamboanga Sibugay—share a similar design: concrete paving of gravel roads, pavement widening, and raising of road embankments.
Environmental planner Lemuel Manalo, Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability program coordinator and Davao City-based environmental advocate, told TIMES in an interview, that every road construction and expansion requires alteration of natural topography to align with the design speed.
The chief best practice set of design standards adopted worldwide is the “Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 2001, AASHTO.” The “Highway Safety Design Standards Manual – Part 1: Road Safety Design Manual, 2012, DPWH,” is based on this set of standards.
Design speed determines individual elements such as stopping sight distance and horizontal curvature. The combination of a design traffic volume and a topography condition (flat topography, rolling topography, and mountainous topography) will affect the design speed.
“If they do not consider the design speed in building roads, it will be very steep which will be prone to vehicular accidents to road users,” Manalo said.
Unfortunately, design speed demands altering slopes, cutting across mountains, and excavation, which, if left unattended, will cause soil erosion and degradation.
Involuntary Resettlement
In the case of Alicia-Malangas Road, a total of 482 affected households (2,169 persons) were identified for land acquisition as the project will directly affect 15 barangays: Alegria, Bella, Ilisan, Poblacion, and Lapirawan (in Alicia municipality); Bacao, Camanga, Catituan, Lipacan, Logpond, Payag, Poblacion, Sinusayan, Tackling and Tigabon (in Malangas municipality).
Of the 482 families, 114 will lose their land, 330 will lose their houses, 131 will lose their crops and 122 will lose productive trees.
Meanwhile, 32 households will experience severe loss of agricultural land, losing 10% or more of productive farms. Also, 142 of these families are considered vulnerable, of which 57% are considered poor.
The affected Indigenous Peoples belonged mostly to the Subanon/Subanen—a tribe indigenous to the Zamboanga Peninsula living in the mountainous areas. They are primarily farmers who plant coconut and rice. Meanwhile, swidden farming is the norm in the interior, particularly the uplands. Further inland, corn and root crops are the staple.
These IP groups become even more threatened due to income loss due to land conversion.
One of the issues and concerns the residents raised during one of the consultations involved the road alignment that would cut across rice fields. The DPWH responded that they would exercise “reasonable efforts” in the detailed engineering design to minimize damage.
In the latest Social Monitoring Report released in June 2024, 38 affected families of the Alicia-Malangas road expansion relocated to resettlement sites, 78 have self-relocated, while 125 have returned.
Development Over Marine Life?
Zamboanga Peninsula has at least 58 named islands around the mainland coast: 21 are in Zamboanga City; 20 in Zamboanga Sibugay; 11 are in Zamboanga del Sur; and Zamboanga del Norte (six islands).
The region’s total coastline stretches 1,416.65 kilometers, which is roughly 43% of Mindanao’s total coastline, providing easy access to the country’s richest fishing grounds- covering portions of the Sulu Sea, Moro Gulf, Sibuguey Bay, and Basilan Strait-making fishing one of its major industries.
According to a Department of Trade and Industry Region 9 profile report, the peninsula supplies 75% of the country’s total domestic requirements for canned sardines, from about 10 major canning factories based in Zamboanga City, living up to its name the “Sardines Capital of the Philippines.”
However, as much as the sardine business is making inroads into the export market, local transportation continues to be a problem in some parts of the peninsula.
Guicam Bridge, one of the non-core projects under the Lutiman-Guicam-Olutanga Road (PR 09) of the IGCMRSP would link Barangay Guicam, Alicia to Barangay Hula-Hula, Mabuhay crossing the Canalizo Strait.
Presently, locals depend on the RoRo vessel to get from one island to another. However, waiting time takes about 2-3 hours before getting a slot for the trip.
Economic Connector
In a Messenger interview, Rosalina Lumactod, 46, a local of Olutanga Island in Zambonga Sibugay, told TIMES that will serve as an economic connector between their hometown and the mainland municipality of Alicia as it will improve the value chain due to the easier transfer of marine products like fish and seaweeds.
“Malaking abala ang barge lalo na dumadami na ang mga sasakyan minsan kailangan mo mag hintay ng one to two hours, worst is half day. At kapag minalas ka at dumating sa hapon baka kinabukasan na makatawid ang 4-wheels (The barge is a huge inconvenience, especially with the increasing number of vehicles. Sometimes you wait for one to two hours, worst is half day. And if you’re unlucky and you arrive late in the afternoon, you can only cross the next morning),” Lumactod said.
She added they have to be at the port by 5 a.m. sharp to get the first trip of the barge or else will be stuck in the long queue for a while. The lone operational barge takes only six trips daily until 5 p.m.
Rosalina shared that the bridge is a “dream come true” for the residents of Olutanga, Talusan, and Mabuhay municipalities of Olutanga Island as it will improve transport and access to markets.
Olutanga Island, previously known as a “pirates’ hiding place,” boasts of tourism and agro-fishery potentials with its 89-km coastline of beaches, snorkeling, and diving sites, diverse aqua and fishery products.
In an interview with PTV- state-controlled media on January 9, 2025, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said the bridge is a “game changer” for the island and is expected to be open to the public by 2025.
As of August 30, 2024, Guicam Bridge is 80.64% complete.
“Biodiversity is Already Low”
However, despite its tangible benefits, erecting the bridge will involve erecting multiple bored piles to be driven into the channel waters, which can disrupt marine life.
Canalizo Strait, where the Guicam Bridge will pass through is 440 meters in length encompassing the waters between Barangay Guicam, Alicia, Zamboanga Sibugay and Sitio Hula-Hula, Poblacion, Mabuhay Zamboanga, Sibugay.
From July 26-28, 2019, seven teams conducted Marine Ecological Survey and Assessment Activities in the Canalizo Strait to conduct baseline surveys for marine ecological assessment of coral reefs, coral fishes, seagrass/seaweeds, mangroves, phytoplankton, benthos, and water quality.
The results showed that the marine biodiversity in the channel is low. The assessment also revealed the channel featured slow water movement and no wave action, resulting in the accumulation of sediment, low water visibility, and minimal marine resources.
For instance, only one species of seagrass (Enhalus acoroides) was recorded in the area. E. acoroides, the largest seagrass in the Philippines, thrives in sandy-muddy and sandy-silted substrates and is not greatly affected by turbidity and low light intensity due to the long leaves extending to the water surface.
“Human activities such as barge and boat operations greatly affected the population diversity of marine organisms in the channel, as sedimentation, siltation, low water visibility prevented coral reefs and reef fish recruits from settling down,” the DPWH Marine Ecological Survey and Assessment reads.
Environmental planner Navacilla said most public infrastructure proposals claim minimal impacts on the environment.
“Always, they justify in terms of low to zero environmental impact and then magnifying the positive impact such as cutting travel time, increasing traffic volume, or bringing the products from farm to market, it’s always a presentation of positive outweighing the negative impact,” Navacilla said.
Apparently, the reforestation efforts of the local government units will go to waste as about 200 mangroves, mostly on the Guicam side, would be cut down for the bridge. Most of these were Bakawan Lalaki species and a few Pagatpat trees.
However, the area wasn’t considered an environmentally protected area similar to the Pagadian Mangrove Forest Reserve. As a result, the contractor was able to secure an ECC in December 2019 and eventually started construction in January 2021.
Open access means rapid urbanization
While Rosalina shared that the bridge will be an “answered prayer” to Olutanga residents, as far as urban planner Navacilla is concerned, open access leads to rapid urbanization.
“Rapid urbanization will result in loss of green spaces, agricultural land, and biodiversity. And because of economic development, industrial activities are spreading, there is an increase of vehicular traffic, and water and air quality in the area is affected,” Navacilla said.
Urban sprawl will eventually convert green spaces into residential and commercial areas and leave a fragmented habitat for wildlife.
The urban planner can only hope the amendment of penalties imposed on violators and non-compliant with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will push through as the P50,000 fine is only pocket change to contractors.
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This story was produced with the support of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network as part of the Media Action on Sustainable Infrastructure in the Philippines.
