• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
Following the announcement of the South Korean government to halt the P28.7 billion (700 billion won) feasibility study involving several rural bridge projects across the Philippines, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lascon said it was bad news as it will affect the construction of the Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) Bridge.
The PGN Bridge is a 32.47-kilometer megastructure that will connect the islands of Panay, Guimaras, and Negros. The Korea-Import Bank pledged 1 billion dollars to fund the 13-kilometer stretch linking Panay and Guimaras.
“Definitely it is not good news; again it will delay the aspiration of the Negrenses to have the bridge. It is very unfortunate, but we cannot blame the Korean government,” Lacson said in an interview.
Allegations have circulated in the country and media, saying that the suspension of the projects by the Korean government is due to the anomalies and corruption in the Philippine government.
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines released a statement on Friday clarifying that the suspension of the nationwide projects, which includes the PGN Bridge, was “unrelated to the Philippine Government.”
“The suspension of the feasibility study on the project in question is unrelated to the Philippine government. This decision was made solely to allow for the verification of matters that had been raised in Korean media reports. The project in question will be put on hold until further notice,” it stated.
The embassy affirmed that the current situation will not affect the relationship of the two countries.
CONSERVATION VICTORY
Meanwhile, a group of young marine conservationists considered the suspension of the bridge project a victory. They said that the bridge’s planned route through the Guimaras Strait poses an existential threat to the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), a critically endangered species.
“The strait is a habitat for the Irrawaddy Dolphins, and construction of the bridge would ultimately promote noise pollution, which can cause stress to the marine mammals and possible mortality. Knowing that the subpopulation is declining, we don’t want this species to be extinct,” Mangrove Matters PH, a youth-led organization that advocates marine conservation, said in a statement.*
