The giant and the small hill

To some people, it may sound like making a mountain out of what is really a very small hill. But the movement to save Caticlan Hill near Boracay Island could spell the difference between keeping one of the country’s biggest tourist draws environmentally and economically viable and the sacrifice of yet another of our natural treasures on the profit-driven altar of corporate expediency.
Yesterday, diversifying corporate giant San Miguel Corp. held its annual stockholders’ meeting. During the get-together, SMC was supposed to outline its expansion plans for the year, including its small (compared to its other big-ticket projects) investment in Caticlan International Airport Development Corp., the outfit that seeks to extend the current runway on the portion of mainland Panay Island and which serves as the jump-off point to the world-renowned beaches of Boracay.
Environmentalist groups and the provincial government of Aklan want SMC to save Caticlan Hill on the grounds that leveling this geographical bump to make way for a longer Caticlan runway would eventually destroy Boracay. The Earth Savers Movement and Gov. Carlito Marquez both claim that the original proponent of the lengthened runway (which sold the project to SMC) secured environmental clearances that did not include plans for the destruction of the hill, something that would adversely affect the “micro-climate” of the resort island.
In a last-minute appeal on the eve of the SMC meeting, Earth Savers secretary-general Dr. Roger Birosel urged the conglomerate’s stockholders to reconsider plans to level Caticlan Hill on the landward side of the current 900-meter runway to make way for a 2.1-km takeoff-and-landing area that can accommodate bigger wide-bodied airliners. SMC’s involvement in the P2.5-billion build-operate-transfer project, Birosel said, was out of character for a company with a “legacy of honored partnership [with government and Filipinos] in nation-building.”
“Through the years, SMC [has become] a highly respected blue-chip company that the entire nation and individual Filipinos are very proud of,” Birosel wrote. “Especially now, as a diversifying conglomerate going into laudable projects such as the MRT-7, the bullet train railway from Bicol to Laoag, the international airport in Clark, etc., we can see the shift of concern from consumers to the general public.”
Unfortunately, Earth Savers said, SMC is also getting involved in several controversial projects such as P50-billion Laiban Dam project, mining and the Caticlan airport. This “changing of corporate philosophy” from consumer products to big infrastructure projects that endanger the environment could make SMC “not a partner but an enemy [allied with] global climate change,” Birosel wrote.
The proponents of lengthening the Catican runway, Birosel said, “have the gall to remove an entire hill said to be a critical barrier that is responsible for a national treasure like Boracay.” “Is it really necessary to do that?” he asked. “The hill must go only if the airport is converted into an international facility. As an upgraded domestic airport, the hill can stay.”
Birosel was referring to reports that the original proponent of the privatization of Caticlan airport secured permits that only covered the upgrading of the terminal, which is supposed to remain a domestic airport servicing small commercial planes and not the extension of the runway. A government landform expert has theorized that the required leveling of Caticlan Hill would allow wind and waves to blanket the crushed-coral beach on Boracay with sand and soil, ruining its fabled coast.
Earth Savers and the private Boracay Foundation want SMC to have the report of the predicted destruction of Boracay’s beach verified by independent local or international experts before it proceeds with Caticlan Hill’s flattening. They also want the conglomerate to seek new environmental impact clearances from government that will include the hill’s leveling before starting work to extend the runway.
Then there’s the question of the necessity of converting the airport from domestic to international, in the first place. “Do we really need another international airport so close to Boracay?” Birosel asked. “Most airports of famed exotic destinations are located at a safe enough distance that balances convenience and tranquility so important to tourists who pay a premium for such an ambience deserving of world acclaim.”
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The same sentiment has been aired by the Aklan provincial government led by Marquez. According to the governor, the provincial government issued local permits for the project when the Department of Environment Natural Resources approved its environmental clearance in 2006 – but was not informed that the hill will be leveled by the proponent.
Marquez said that the permits covered only upgrading the airport complex and not the present development plan laid out by SMC and its wholly-owned international airport developer. The company did not consult provincial officials on the matter even if consultation is one of the requirement for the issuance of an environmental clearance.
These questionable aspects of the airport project have forced environmentalist groups like Earth Savers to appeal directly to San Miguel’s stockholders to save Caticlan Hill. “Each SMC stockholder [should] be more vigilant about what the company is entering into and guard against being associated with projects that represent the very evil in what the whole world is particularly concerned about,” said Birosel. “Grant the board the mandate for initiatives that will bring great pride to our country and to us as a people. But request them to be steer clear of projects like Laiban Dam, the Limay coal-fired plant, and most importantly, the Caticlan airport project.”
As this is being written, it is not known if the Caticlan airport expansion was taken up during yesterday’s stockholders’ meeting. In all likelihood, the meeting discussed far bigger expansion projects like San Miguel’s billion-dollar foray into telecommunications through Liberty Telecoms and its other big-budget investments in power, infrastructure and mining.
That these “sexier” projects would occupy the minds of stockholders in the former food-and-beverage giant is understandable, given their impact on the bottom line and the potential revenues (or losses) that they could bring. However, perhaps the message of the people who want to save Boracay by defending a small hill across the water did get through somehow—we will have to await more comprehensive reports on the meeting to find out.
Or maybe the fate of a small hill that is part of a small project was never even brought up while San Miguel’s board was outlining its plans for expansion into fields that it never even dreamed of entering just a decade ago. And that would be a real tragedy for a company that has been known for its leadership and knowledge of its market and its sensitivity to all people —even those who do not own its valuable blue-chip stock.
It could be just a hill to San Miguel, which has bigger fish to fry. But it could be a measure of how the country’s biggest corporation intends to grow and to continue its partnership with all its stakeholders, not just those with SMC’s short-term profitability in mind.