ISLAND GARDEN CITY OF SAMAL (MindaNews / 24 July 2026) — For Samalenyos residing near the construction site, the Samal Island-Davao City Connector (SIDC) project is measured less by its towering pillars, but by the sounds that accompany them.

The steady rumble of the 24/7 construction echoes along the shorelines every day, turning what was once an open coastline into a constant reminder of change.

As neighboring communities witness the bridge take shape, another critical foundation is still being built: environmental accountability.

Designed to be a reliable 24/7 link across the Pakiputan Strait, the bridge aims to enhance the region’s economy, agriculture, and tourism. With improved connectivity, it is expected to provide faster mobility — from a 20-minute ferry ride to a five-minute ride across the bridge — and greater access to opportunity across the two localities.

Led by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the bridge is contracted by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) in joint coordination with local government units from Davao City and the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCos).

Since construction officially began in 2022, the project has expanded discussions beyond infrastructure to include environmental stewardship and accountability.

This raises broader questions on how ecological safeguards are implemented, and who will be responsible for ensuring that these mandates are consistently upheld and communicated to the public.

“The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) quarterly monitors the compliance of environmental factors with the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC),” says Engr. Kim Joshua Garciano, Senior Environmental Management Specialist of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).

He shared that although the environmental conditions such as soil, air, and water are compliant with the ECC’s parameters, nighttime noise levels recorded at three monitoring stations exceeded the standards prescribed by the National Pollution Control Commission (NPCC) for the January–June 2026 reporting period.

The NPCC was merged with the National Environmental Protection Council in 1987 into what is now the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) but the NPCC Memorandum Circular 002, series of 1980, remains the primary legal standard for allowable decibel limits in the Philippines.

Daily reality

At the affected areas, the allowable nighttime noise limits ranged from 45 to 65 A-weighted decibel (dBA), while the recorded levels ranged from 48 to 66 dBA—or 1 to 3 dBA higher than the applicable standards.

The loudest noise was recorded near the Blue Jazz Resort Jetty, measuring 48 dBA, or 3 dBA above the permitted limit. Two other monitoring areas also recorded slightly louder noise levels than allowed: the area near the CRBC warehouse measured 66 dBA, or 1 dBA above its 65-dBA limit, while a residential compound recorded 61 dBA, or 1 dBA above its 60-dBA limit.

According to the monitoring report, these higher readings were limited to specific locations and occurred only during nighttime. The noise levels were related to nearby activities such as the use of heavy equipment and industrial operations, with one location’s readings influenced by natural nighttime sounds, such as chirping insects.

In response, it is the recommendation of the Multi-partite Monitoring Team to continue implementing the Noise Management Plan– while maintaining a Community Grievance Mechanism (CGM) or complaint system so nearby areas can quickly report disturbances and have their concerns further investigated and addressed.

For those living and working near the bridge, these recommendations reflect their daily reality.

Liam, a staff member from the nearby resort said the sound of the construction persists all throughout the day, with no clear indication of when construction activities are scheduled. He also spoke of instances where human feces washed into the beach waters, which he alleged were associated with the ongoing construction.

While Garciano notes that the working area is equipped with portable toilets, no formal complaints on the matter have been received to date. He encourages everyone to report their concerns through the barangay or the appropriate local government office to allow authorities to investigate and respond accordingly.

Beneath the bridge

However, beyond the challenges raised by nearby communities, the project warrants a larger reflection on environmental accountability beneath the bridge.

The bridge’s impact on coral reefs remains one of the most contested environmental disputes.

Because construction takes place above and near Paradise Reef and the Hizon Marine Protected Area, concerns over the vulnerability of these coral reef ecosystems have remained central to public discourse surrounding the project.

A July 2025 report by MindaNews quoted marine biologist John Michael Lacson as saying that roughly one-fifth of the 7,500 square meter Paradise Reef had died, attributing the damage to sedimentation, a process associated with bridge construction.

The reported coral damage also renewed discussions on alternative bridge alignments, where Lacson cited a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) study identifying multiple routes that would cost an estimated ₱16 billion – around ₱7 billion less than the current project cost and would cause less impact on the marine ecosystem. These points later became parts of the arguments raised in the Petition for the Issuance of a Writ of Kalikasan filed before the Supreme Court.

Writ of Kalikasan

In April last year, the Sustainable Davao Movement filed a petition for Writ of Kalikasan before the Supreme Court. The Writ is a special legal remedy under Philippine law created to protect people’s constitutional right to a healthy environment.

The Supreme Court on July 1, 2025 issued a Writ of Kalikasan against the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Samal Island Protected Landscape and Seascape Protected Area Management Board, and the contractor, CRBC, China Road and Bridge Corporation and gave them 10 days to file a verified return on the petition and referred the prayer for a Temporary Environmental Protection Order (TEPO) to the Court of Appeals (CA) in Cagayan de Oro for action.

The CA, however, denied the petitioners’ prayer for a TEPO 11 days later as it “would cause undue disruption to a government infrastructure project already in progress and may potentially harm the greater public interest.”

“The TEPO would have immediately halted construction activities that, according to marine scientists and field documentation, have already caused irreversible damage to coral reef ecosystems in Paradise Reef (Samal) and the Hizon Marine Protected Area (Davao City),” the petitioners from the Sustainable Davao Movement said in a statement on the day the TEPO was denied.

The case is ongoing at the Court of Appeals in Cagayan de Oro, with environmental groups arguing that the project continues to pose grave risks to marine ecosystems.

Hearings scheduled for July this year were reset by the Court to August.

Guidance from national agencies

Addressing these issues, Garciano explained during a press briefing here on July 11: “We really rely on guidance from the national agencies like the DPWH and DENR…but what we really want to do is to know how we can mitigate the bridge’s effects, rehabilitate, and make it beneficial to all.”

He says it is a very important aspect to consider in the project which has established policies and frameworks in place. “It is a matter of implementation– to make it sustainable and safe, not only for people, but for the environment,” Garciano added.

Karen Kaye Ruiz-Servillon, the Assistant City Administrator, underscored that government infrastructure projects undergo feasibility studies and regulatory compliance before approval.

She affirmed that while Samal is one of the project’s stakeholders, the bridge was proposed by the national government, which oversees its technical aspects.

Within this structure of governance, the role of local expertise in informing the project’s environmental plans and direction becomes equally relevant.

Servillon reiterated that “during the conception of the project, the National Government facilitated the inception to the pre-investment and investment phase.”

She said the project underwent a series of consultations with stakeholders both from Samal and Davao City.

Environmental sustainability

Organizations critical of the SIDC voiced their objections during the project’s planning stages from 2017 to 2018. This was followed by a period of limited public engagement, before the project received approval in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his presentation at the MindaNews Climate-Environment FIELD Reporting Lab on July 10, lawyer Mark T. Peñalver, Executive Director of Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) stressed that “there is a need for access between Samal and Davao, but we can do it sustainably without destroying our natural resources.”

As the construction of the bridge continues, Servillon noted that the national government would not invest in something that is not sustainable for the city and entire region.

The bridge is expected to increase the movement of residents, migrants, and tourists between Davao City and Samal by 25,000 vehicles per day. This brings about a pivotal responsibility, especially when it comes to waste.

“At the moment, wala kami problema with waste po.” (We do not have a problem with waste), Servillon said.

She explained that Samal has been practicing segregation at source for two decades and is currently looking into innovations in environmental sustainability. This ties into the city’s efforts to transition into a circular economy since 2020, she said.

Environmental accountability

While the bridge promises greater accessibility, stakeholders acknowledge that sustaining Samal’s natural resources will depend not only on infrastructure, but also on effective environmental management upon the project’s anticipated completion in 2028.

Garciano added that they have integrated the possible effects of the bridge into Samal’s 10-year solid waste plan. “We have the policy and plans, it is now a matter of implementing,” he said.

Amid these discourses, each stakeholder reaffirms the significance of ecological resilience. Yet, realizing this mission requires systems that allow the public to understand, assess, and verify environmental findings with consistency and clarity.

“It is not just about economics and the environment, we must factor in people. These three should go together, to ensure that we protect each other,” Peñalver said.

For Samalenyos watching the bridge being built from home, the promise of development is measured one day at a time — through the sounds of machinery, the changing shoreline, and the hope that today’s cooperation in the decision-making process will protect tomorrow’s environment.

The Samal Island–Davao City Connector’s legacy is not only evaluated by the distance it will be able to shorten, but by the region’s commitment to fairly bridge modernization with environmental stewardship for the next generation of Samalenyos. (Mary Angellie C. Aguilar / Mapua Malayan Colleges Mindanao, for MindaNews)

[This story was produced during the Climate Impact and Environment Field Reporting Lab on July 10 to 13 in Davao City. It was organized by the Mindanao Institute of Journalism, publisher of MindaNews, under the Media Impact Philippines project. This is also supported by International Media Support (IMS) and co-funded by the European Union and the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)]