The construction of the Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge will continue pending a final decision from the Supreme Court (SC) on a petition seeking to stop the project due to environmental concerns.

SC issued a Writ of Kalikasan on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in response to the petition filed by environmental advocates Carmela Marie Santos, Mark Peñalver, and the Sustainable Davao Movement against the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Samal Island Protected Landscape and Seascape Protected Area Management Board, and China Road and Bridge Corporation.

“The petitioners on this case seek to stop the construction of the Samal Island-Davao City Connector Bridge Project claiming it will cause actual, serious and irreversible damage to coral reefs in Paradise Reef, Samal Island and Hizon Marine Protected Area in Davao City,” SC Spokesperson, Atty. Camille Sue Mae Ting, said.

SC has required the respondents to submit a verified return on the petition within a non-extendible period of 10 days after service of the writ.

The High Court also referred the prayer for a temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) to the Court of Appeals-Cagayan de Oro for action.

GMA Regional TV One Mindanao is reaching out to the petitioners for a statement, as of this writing.

In a statement, several environment conservation organizations have welcomed the decision of the SC en banc.

The group said the issuance of the writ would mean that no development project, regardless of its scale or funding, should override environmental laws or threaten ecosystems and local livelihoods.

Despite the writ, DPWH-11 said the construction of the bridge will proceed in the absence of a TEPO or a temporary restraining order (TRO).

“For as long as wala tayong natatanggap na temporary environmental protection order or a TRO for that matter ay itutuloy parin natin ang proyekto. We will comply by the court’s requirement for us to come up with a verified return for the next 10 days,” DPWH-11 Spokesperson, Dean Ortiz, said.

DPWH-11 has maintained that the project has secured all necessary permits.

“Without the necessary permits, hindi namin masisimulan ‘yung project. So, lahat ng mga pertinent permits especially coming from the DENR was issued to us already,” Ortiz added.

At present, the project is 38 percent complete. The construction began in 2022 and is expected to be finished by 2028.