DIAMOND HIGHWAY

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Shipbreaking remains halted

The cease and desist order (CDO) that Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan issued in January 2024 to halt the shipbreaking operation of the 'Diamond Highway' in Sitio Proper Jansen, Barangay Punta Engaño remains in effect, and vessel has not been removed off the coast of the barangay. Proper shipbreaking guidelines should be observed to protect the health of nearby residents. An executive session on Nov. 14, 2024, invited various city departments and officers from the Philippine Coast Guard, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and environmental experts to discuss strategies for the proper dismantling of the ship.Punta Engaño residents who had filed a complaint for health related-illnesses were also present during the meeting. Residents from Sitios Proper Jansen, Colo, Lupa and Mangal believed that fiber-like dust emissions from the shipbreaking operation contributed to the skin and respiratory diseases they experienced in 2023. These health issues prompted Chan to issue a CDO on Jan. 31 to halt the shipbreaking operation carried out by a private firm. The vessel was among the more than 100 ships that were either stranded or sank due to typhoon Odette in December 2021. Report with photo: https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/ship-remains-stranded-off-punta-enga%C3%B1o

Residents complained about alleged continue of shipbreaking works

Residents of Barangay Punta Engaño trooped to Lapu-Lapu City Hall on the morning of March 19 to report to Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan the alleged continued shipbreaking works on the 'Diamond Highway' despite a cease and desist order issued in January. The residents of Lupa, Kolo, Proper, and Jansen—claimed that the continued wrecking operations have caused them skin and respiratory illnesses. In fact, they attributed the death of a four-year-old child to the toxic fiber dust allegedly coming from the shipbreaking operations. The child allegedly succumbed to pneumonia on March 17. The residents believed the respiratory problem was caused by the fiber dust from the stranded ship. The residents were accompanied by Josie Hayashi, barangay administrator of Punta Engaño, to the Lapu-Lapu City Hall to personally plead to the mayor to ensure that the ship breaking company complies with the work stoppage order. The mayor had already issued a cease and desist order on Jan 31 to stop the activity in the area, but the shipbreaking allegedly continued since most residents in the area still noticed the presence of fiber dust in the air. The residents were advised to consult their health center but they opted to go to City Hall to see the mayor claiming that their situation calls for an emergency action. The Lapu-Lapu City public information office had stated on March 14 that the mayor has not lifted his cease and desist order until the ship management complies with all the recommendations given by the City Health Office (CHO). The operations manager of the 'Diamond Highway' denied the residents’ claim that their wrecking operations continued, having stopped the shipbreaking activity after receiving the order from the mayor. At present a clearing operation to remove the residue was underway. Report with photo: https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-news/2024/03/20/2341918/shipbreaking-operations-blamed-childs-death

Lapu Lapu mayer orderer stop of wreck removal

On March 8, 2024, the City Mayor Junard Chan of Lapu Lapu has dispatched an investigating team to confirm reports of ongoing ship-breaking activities on the 'Diamond Highway' in Sitio Proper Jansen, Barangay Punta Engaño, despite the Lapu-Lapu City Government's issuance of a cease and desist order (CDO) in January to halt the operation. Chan expressed surprise when information broke about the alleged resumption of theoperation. He reiterated that the CDO issued by the City Government in January was still in effect. Chan had ordered a stop to the ship-breaking operations of M/V Diamond Highway on January 31 amid complaints by residents in four sitios of the operations’ ill effects on their health. The team he has assigned will investigate why Pilipinas Precious Metal Resources Inc. (PPMRI), the ship-breaking company has continued its operations despite the City not lifting the CDO yet. The City had ordered PPMRI to remove all the debris left from their ship-breaking operations, but the company was prohibited from cutting any parts of the wreck until the CDO is lifted. Chan was awaiting the recommendation from the Lapu-Lapu City Health Office (LCHO) before the PPMRI may resume their salvage operation. They must comply with the list of requirements provided by the health office. One of the primary requirements was to ensure that the company has implemented strategies to prevent residents from suffering from skin and other types of diseases while they are carrying out the ship-breaking process. The LCHO has also suggested that PPMRI should contain all the ship-breaking materials, among other health hazards, which could otherwise be disseminated through the air and affect residents living in the vicinity of the ship, such as fine dust. The Lapu-Lapu City Health Office had discovered some of the affected residents might have been experiencing prickly heat due to the humid weather with the possibility that some affected residents could have been suffering from skin rashes caused by the hot weather. They have provided ointments to the Punta Engaño barangay health centers to assist residents who may suffer from skin diseases and also conducted Information Education Campaigns (IECs) to strengthen health awareness. Residents from Sitios Lupa, Colo, Proper Jansen, and Mangal have reported experiencing skin rashes and other skin diseases since the shipbreaking works started producing fiber dust late in 2023. On March 8, more than 300 residents from the four Sitios in Barangay Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City presented a petition expressing their dismay over the continued shipwrecking operation of the 'Diamond Highway'. The Lapu-Lapu City Government issued a cease and desist order on Jan 31, but the shipbreaking operations were still ongoing. The Barangay Council drafted a resolution to allow the company to continue its ship-breaking operations despite the Mayor's CDO. On March 9, Barangay Councilor Mark Escardo clarified that the resolution they passed only requested the Lapu-Lapu City Government to conduct an investigation. The investigation will determine whether the PPMRI should be allowed to resume the ship-breaking or cutting of the ship. The goal was for PPMRI to complete the ship-breaking operations to permanently solve the problem. However, they were still waiting for a decision from Chan regarding this matter. Report with photo: https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/probe-team-dispatched-to-check-ship-breaking-operation-of-stranded-vessel