Writ of Kalikasan filed versus P23-billion Samal-Davao bridge project

Fishermen pass in front of the ongoing construction of the Samal Island – Davao City Connector project on Wednesday (27 November 2024). MindaNews file photo by MANMAN DEJETO

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 21 April) –  A group of environmentalists filed a Writ of Kalikasan before the Supreme Court in Manila on Monday in a bid to stop the “unlawful” construction of the Chinese-funded P23 billion Samal Island-Davao City Connector (SIDC) project.

The Writ of Kalikasan is a legal remedy under Philippine laws, providing protection on one’s constitutional right to a healthy environment. The writ may be sought to deal with environmental damage with such a huge magnitude that it “threatens life, health, or property” of inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces.

It derives its mandate from Article II, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution, which said the “state shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.”

The petitioners of the 208-page writ are Carmela Marie Santos, director of Ateneo de Davao University’s Ecoteneo; Mark Peñalver, executive director of Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability, Inc. (IDIS); Marvelous Dainty Camilo, chairperson of Dyesabel Philippines, Inc; and the Sustainable Davao Movement, represented by Santos and Peñalver. They cited that the bridge construction “committed unlawful acts and omissions” that led to the destruction of coral reef ecosystems.

They are represented by lawyers Antonio La Viña, Karlo Isagani Zarate, Jayvy Gamboa, Ericka Uyguangco, and Hazel Acero.

Manuel Quibod, dean of the Ateneo de Davao College of Law and co-counsel for the petitioners, explained to the Davao media that the SIDC construction allegedly violated several constitutional rights and provisions of Philippine laws.

Quibod said that among the grounds of the writ were the respondents’ alleged violations of the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018 or the Expanded MIPAS under Republic Act (RA) 11038, Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act (RA 9147), Davao City Ordinance No. 0861-22 (Comprehensive Land Use Plan 2019-2028 of Davao City), and Presidential Decree Number 1586 or the institution of Philippine Environmental Impact Statement Systems and its implementing rules and regulations, among others.

He said that the respondents – the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Samal Island Protected Landscape and Seascape Protected Area Management Board (SIPLS-PAMB) and China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) – must halt the project and be held accountable for the marine biodiversity loss in the area.

“The grounds why we’re filing this petition for Writ of Kalikasan is that the construction of the SIDC project will result in actual, serious, and irreversible damage to the coral reefs in the Paradise Reef and in the Hizon Marine Protected Area, which violates our constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology,” Quibod said in a press conference at the Ateneo de Davao University here Monday morning.

Representatives from the academe and non-government organizations in Davao City pose for the camera at the Ateneo de Davao University after the filing of Writ of Kalikasan against the Samal Island – Davao Connector project before the Supreme Court in Manila on Monday, 21 April 2025. MindaNews photo by IAN CARL ESPINOSA

Ecoteneo’s Santos, who filed the case in Manila along with their counsels, said through Zoom that the writ is needed to contend with the damages posed by the bridge construction.

“We took our time to try to reach out to (the different government) agencies… but to no avail  … This is our last resort,” Santos said.

Marine biologist John Lacson said that the construction of the bridge, which he called a “mistake,” referring to the project’s damaging impact on the coral reefs, must be stopped.

“Why keep this project, (is it) a matter of pride? Do they not want to admit that they were wrong? We can take any government official and give them a set of goggles and snorkel, and take them underneath the water and show them what they have done, and explain to them what they are going to do,” he said.

“Why continue with a mistake just because you made a mistake?” he added.

Lacson said that the Chinese workers have been “prohibiting people who wanted to dive near the construction area.” The Chinese contractor earlier said they were doing it for “safety reasons.”

The petitioners, however, stressed that they are not against the construction of the Samal-Davao Bridge, but at the chosen alignment, which landed in the property of the Rodriguez-Lucas family in Barangay Caliclic, Samal Island.

The group pushed the shorter and cheaper alignment at the old Bridgeport area, also in Barangay Caliclic, which was identified in a study commissioned by the Japanese government. This alignment is P7 billion cheaper from the current project.

“It is up to the Supreme Court if they will eventually stop it or re-align the bridge,” Quibod said.

Earlier, Davao City Councilor Temujin “Tek” Ocampo, chairperson of the city council’s environment committee, dared local environmentalists to file a Writ of Kalikasan before the Supreme Court if they believe that the construction of the SIDC project is illegal and environmentally destructive.

When the media asked Quibod why Ocampo and other local government officials from both Davao City and the Island Garden City of Samal were not included in the case as respondents, he said that they were simply not “direct decision-makers.”

The 3.98-kilometer bridge is funded mostly by a loan from China. The project commenced in 2022 and is expected to be completed “in 2028.”

Environmentalists have documented the destruction of centennial table corals at the Paradise Reef due to the construction of the Samal-Davao bridge.

As of April 12, the DPWH, which claimed that the ongoing bridge construction was “well-studied,” said that the SIDC project is nearly 12 percent completed.

On October 27, 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Samal-Davao bridge, which was approved during the Duterte administration.

“In line with President Marcos’ directive to accelerate critical infrastructure, DPWH is pushing forward with the SIDC to ensure timely and transparent delivery, while staying within budget,” DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain said in a statement.

The P23 billion bridge project, which consists of the bridge, viaduct, and roundabout junction in Samal and Davao, is 90 percent funded by China’s official development assistance (ODA) worth P19.32 billion, and the rest by the Philippine government. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)