Reclamation projects
THE good news is that outgoing President Rodrigo R. Duterte has ordered a stop to the processing of all reclamation projects in the country due to reports of corruption.
The tough-talking Duterte issued the order, described by even critics as “a welcome development,” three months before June 30, when his six-year administration ends.
The Chief Executive from Davao City told government officials from the Visayas Thursday that he had dismissed five or six members of his Cabinet because of corruption.
However, the long-time city mayor, a lawyer by profession, did not identify the erring Cabinet officials.
Admirers of Duterte, the first Mindanaoan president, said the dismissal of the Cabinet officials “is ample proof that there are no sacred cows” in the current administration.
When he assumed the top political post of the land on June 30, 2016, Duterte vowed to go after corrupt men and women in state uniform and eradicate the drug menace.
Likewise, Mr. Duterte vowed to hit hard at criminals and address the perennial problems of unemployment, homelessness, hunger, poverty and rising prices of commodities.
Environmentalists said that reclamation projects damage marine biodiversity in the area, adding that they harm the poor most, notably the fishers and their families.
Thus, the incoming administration will be under heavy pressure to ensure that the ecosystems affected by reclamation are protected and made resilient to climate impacts.
Dapat lang!
