AS of the writing of this column yesterday morning President BBM was expected in Davao City to lead government officials in the ground breaking ceremony signaling the start of the construction of the P23 -billion Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge (SIDC).
But a day before yesterday a 3-committee joint hearing was conducted by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Davao City supposedly to hear out and possibly come up with some kind of plan of action to confront the various issues attendant to the project implementation.
After last Wednesday’s joint hearing by the Committees on Public Works, Environment and Natural Resources, and Tourism, we learned that many issues surfaced in regards to the apparent short cutting of certain processes if only to make it appear that the project meets all the legal requirements for it to be on “GO” status.
One was the issuance of an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) allegedly without going into the process as required by law. Another is the rather unusual action of the previous Davao City Council to pass a resolution endorsing the project even if it did not receive or was in possession of an ECC.
And what perhaps could be considered a dereliction of duty of the Council that made the endorsement and the present one is the claim that it was and still is, not aware that certain processes are allegedly short cut if only to facilitate the full acceptance of the feasibility study conducted by the Hong Kong-based consultancy firm relegating an earlier feasibility study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which could have cost the bridge project several billions less.
And if we have to reckon with the President’s coming down to Davao City to lead in the ground-breaking rites all the more that we, or anyone else, can be certain that there is no more any hindrance to the start of the construction. Then people would now be looking forward to the next three years and possibly the President will be back in the city for the inauguration.
But not necessarily, for the adversely affected stakeholders – businessmen, environmentalist groups, and small entrepreneurs supplying goods or merchandise to affected resorts – the BBM attended start-up ceremony for the SIDC may not be the end of their hope, although some will be tempted to call them anti-development.
There is a very strong likelihood, or possibly may have already been done, that they will do what could be their last option – go to the proper court and seek the issuance of a halt order pending deliberation of their complaints against certain issues. Will they go as far as filing a Petition for the issuance of a Writ of Kalikasan with the Supreme Court? So far we have yet to find out.
Meanwhile, with the ground breaking the construction may now proceed and only an immediate action by the court can possibly restrain temporarily the contractor from continuing the work.
But then again, will the High Court – assuming that it is a petition for a Writ of Kalikasan that is or was filed – give special attention to the petition considering the given intention of the SIDC bridge and the voluminous documents that the justice members will have to read and analyze.
Yes, no one can ever discern what are in the minds of the magistrates until we hear, see and read the document containing their resolution of whatever case brought on the project.
This time the people of Samal and of the whole Davao Region will be in for a long wait.
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Believe it or not, we have this school in the Third district of Davao City which is proudly brandishing its name as a national high school but is not even existent in the records of the Department of Education (DepEd). And the same school is one that has a full faculty members but without a single teacher! Is this not one for the record?
We are referring to the Talandang National High School in Talandang, Tugbok District, Davao City. It is under DepEd Region XI’s Cluster 6. Only recently a new Principal was assigned in the school and to his chagrin he found out that he is on top of a 10-woman-1man Faculty members teaching in the school but none of them organic teachers of the same educational institution.
Yes, they are all “lent” by other nearby high schools where their items are. So, when their mother schools find the need for them to be returned then Talandang National High School will be left with no one except the principal who, like anybody holding his position, can be assigned anywhere.
Worst, the same school, while it now bears the name indicative that it is already legislated to be a national secondary school, the newly-assumed principal claimed, is found wanting of any documents attesting that it is indeed a fully independent national high school.
He said that what is on record at the DepEd XI is that it is still Biao National High School-Talandang Annex. Hence its budget is still lodged with the mother school. Because of this unusual situation it cannot have a budget of its own nor can it be provided with teachers’ items. It cannot even pursue its desire to change the school’s name in honor of the donor of the lot where the school buildings now stand.
Maybe it is the appropriate time, even though it is rather late, for the Dep Ed XI to work this out together with the school principal and other stakeholders who may have knowledge of the school’s existence and the circumstances behind the just-surfaced problems of its desire to become full national status as a secondary school.
And they must take advantage of the opportunity to discuss the matter of having zero-item for teachers of its own with Congressman Isidro Ungab and possibly with Davaoena DepEd secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio. They must “strike while the iron is hot,” so to say.
