Residents back Butuan seaport project, seek clear relocation plan

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur —While welcoming the economic promise of a modern transshipment hub at their doorsteps, coastal residents facing displacement by the multi-billion-peso Butuan Logistical Seaport (BLS) project in Butuan City are seeking clear relocation plans and government guarantees.

For Marife Monteroso, 44, a resident of Purok 12 in Barangay Lumbocan, she welcomes the prospect of local employment and regional progress, provided her family is not left without a secure roof over their heads.

“Our main concern really is where exactly we will be relocated. In the meeting earlier, there were clarifications on where we might go,” Monteroso said in a report from the Butuan City Public Information Office on Sunday.

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Monteroso was among dozens of coastal settlers who attended the Butuan City government’s initial social preparation dialogue on Oct. 17 at the Lumbocan gym.

City officials briefed residents on the valuation process for affected structures, available support packages, and the planned transition timeline to designated, disaster-resilient resettlement sites away from coastal hazard zones.

The coastal village of Lumbocan, located near the mouth of the Agusan River facing Butuan Bay, sits at the heart of the city’s ambitious drive to transform it into the primary logistics and agro-industrial gateway of northeastern Mindanao.

According to the city government, civil works for Phases 1 and 2 of the port have already concluded, paving the way for succeeding phases that include extensive rock causeways, container marshalling yards, breakwaters, and deep-water berthing terminals designed to handle larger domestic and regional commercial vessels.

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Records from the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) show the seaport undertaking is funded by a P6.1 billion loan facility from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

City planners designed the deep-water port to ease heavy reliance on the congested Port of Nasipit and the shallow, heavily silted Masao River port.

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By offering direct sea routes to major trading hubs in the Visayas and Luzon, the facility is projected to cut hauling and demurrage costs for Caraga’s agricultural, wood-processing, and mineral exporters, while generating downstream logistics and stevedoring jobs.

Former city councilor and civil engineer Sergio “Serge” Pascual criticized the project, arguing that pouring billions of pesos into a new seaport in Lumbocan faces severe engineering and environmental headwinds, including siltation from the Agusan River delta.

He maintained that upgrading or collaborating with the existing, established deep-water harbor at the Port of Nasipit, or rehabilitating the existing Masao Port, would have been a far more prudent and cost-effective approach for public coffers.

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The city government has consistently defended the project, emphasizing that Butuan must achieve long-term economic independence by capturing port handling, customs dues, and commercial revenues within its own territory, rather than perpetually surrendering logistics growth to neighboring localities./coa