Puerto Princesa is closer to its goal of getting rid of its coastlines of informal settlers after it broke ground for the construction of a total of 47 five-floor buildings or a total of 5,640 housing units under the national government’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program (4PH) in Barangay Irawan, more than 12 kilometers from the city center.
City Mayor Lucilo Bayron announced that the groundbreaking was held on the proposed housing project in this city under 4PH, a flagship program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. funded by the Social Housing Finance Corporation (SHFC) an attached agency of the Department of Human Settlement and Urban Development (DHSUD).
City officials clarified that the original plan to build high-rise buildings was scrapped considering that the electric distribution utility, Palawan Electric Cooperative (Paleco) might be unable to distribute steady reliable power, which high-rise buildings needed to run its elevators.
Last year, the City Government of Puerto Princesa and DHSUD signed and entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in a signing ceremony by City Mayor Lucilo R. Bayron and DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar. Stipulated in the MOU are provisions that aimed to provide decent, safe shelter for Informal Settler Families (ISF) alongside the government’s intention to protect the coastal areas, and properly manage them against pollution caused by informal settlement specifically within Puerto Princesa Bay.
Puerto Princesa prioritizes its informal settlers as beneficiaries of the housing project to rid the city’s coastal areas of pollution. As early as 2019, the city government acquired a 22-hectare property as a relocation of informal settler families.
City Mayor Lucilo Bayron warned that the quality of the bay has been threatened by human activities like dumping of untreated wastewater and throwing of solid wastes including wastes from domestic animals, among others. This compelled him to initiate a massive campaign in the middle of 2023, aimed at “saving Puerto Princesa bays” actively participated by both government and private sectors, civil society groups, and volunteers.
“Aminin natin ang totoo kung ano ang nag cause ng pollution. Unang una ang indiscriminate na pagtatapon ng basura. Dahil sa mga tao,” Mayor Bayron said.
The City has surveyed a total of 9,500 informal settler families and more than 7,000 of them stayed in the city’s coastlines, and coastal easements, while some were in mangrove areas.
The study, “Water quality of Puerto Princesa Bay in relation to the presence of informal settlers in its coastal areas,” authored by Rhea C. Garcellano and Loida Japson of the College of Sciences, Palawan State University (PSU) published in August 2020, affirmed through their analysis that the presence of informal settlers affects water quality in terms of fecal coliform and the five phytoplankton genera.
Former Punong Barangay and now barangay kagawad Gerry Abad of Barangay Mandaragat said that the informal settlers in the city’s coastlines have been there long ago, even before he became barangay captain during 1990s. He lauded the initiative of the city government to aggressively campaign for cleaning Puerto Princesa Bay.
Aside from barangays, civil society organizations and private sectors are also active in helping the city government clean and save the bays, Jonathan Benitez of Palawan Artist Collective said that their group can help with the project through art workshops and murals. He said that beautifying the walls will attract tourists and visitors, and would help inspire and motivate people to help save the coastal areas.
“As part of the art community, we are glad to utilize our expertise to maximize its potential in helping the City Government in the Save the Puerto Princesa Bay project,” Benitez said. “Art is a vital tool in shaping our identity. Ang sining ay effective siyang communication,” he further said.