SAN MIGUEL CORP. is reportedly pursuing a controversial P7.8-billion bridge project that will connect the island of Boracay to Caticlan in mainland Aklan despite the province’s governor having said that the undertaking had been called off.
“Not true,” GMA News quoted San Miguel Chairman and CEO Ramon Ang as saying, while Bilyonaryo.com reported that he had replied “I don’t know why they said that” when asked to comment about Aklan Gov. Jose Enrique Milaflores’ announcement that Ang had agreed to halt the project following a meeting earlier this month.
A San Miguel official told The Manila Times that an official statement would be issued after Ang returns from Japan, where he is accompanying President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the latter’s four-day state visit.
There was also no word from the Department of Public Works and Highways, which had awarded the project to San Miguel in March.
Miraflores on Wednesday said Ang had agreed to end the project following a meeting with Ang in Manila last May 13.
“In the end, he agreed not to continue the Boracay Bridge. He listens. Ramon Ang listens. And of course, not just because of us, but because of all of you and the opposition that was expressed,” the governor told stakeholders.
The proposed 2.54-kilometer bridge has drawn criticism over its possible environmental impact and effects on local livelihoods.
Miraflores said concerns were raised over the possible displacement of tricycle drivers and boat operators at the Caticlan Jetty Port as well as the long-term implications of the project on the island’s ecosystem.
He claimed that San Miguel also expressed its desire to avoid conflict with the local community and respect the sentiments of people in Boracay and Aklan despite its continued support for infrastructure development in the area. THE MANILA TIMES
