THE PROPOSED Dumaguete Reclamation Extension Project must be science-based and legal, officials of the Silliman University said.

University President Betty Cernol McCann said that experts have formulated a comprehensive framework for the project.

“May the sciences, both natural and social, inform all actions related to the proposed shoreline modification project,” McCann said.

“SU has always been committed to the prevention of environmental pollution, conservation and enhancement of natural resources and sustainability, as defined in the Environmental Principles, Policies, Guidelines and Best Practices that the SU Board of Trustees has adopted in full,” she added.

Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Antonin Remollo said the project will lead to the development of a sports arena that will cover 17,715 square meters of reconstructed land.

The project includes the construction of eight volleyball units/handball courts, lamp posts, walkways and promenade areas.

Dr. Ben Malayang, former SU president, pointed out that any shoreline modification has both good and bad effects.

“Only if all effects across all concerns (economy, ecology, socio-cultural) are accounted for and weighed against each other, and the weighing is made the basis of policy decisions, that modifying a shoreline may be deemed both legally and morally legitimate,” Malayang said.

“Any decision on shoreline modification must be unquestionably legal and moral. Neither one must be compromised nor contrived,” he added.