GMA asked to probe DENR’s P129M project
By Jason B. Neola
PILI, Camarines Sur --- A petition is being prepared to ask President Arroyo to look into and temporarily shelve the alleged anomalous implementation of the P129 million watershed agro-forestry project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Mt. Isarog.
Jim Monge, community coordinator of the Iriga-based Tanggol Kalikasan, a pro-environment Non-Government Organization, said the move is necessary “so that the public will see the real picture of what is really happening” in the implementation of the multimillion reforestation project.
Monge also deplored the results of the reforestation projects in the region, saying that since the early 90s, Bicol has only 6 to 7 percent forested area left.
The call for investigation came after Pili Mayor Alexis D. San Luis, who considers Tanggol Kalikasan as partner in the enforcement of forestry laws, urged the NGO to come up with a complaint-petition enumerating the reported violations by the DENR in the implementation of reforestation projects in his municipality.
In an interview, San Luis said that the local government unit is seriously considering the sending of complaint-petition to the DENR “in order for the agency to discuss and properly resolve” the alleged irregularities in the implementation of the project.
Ensuring that their efforts will not go in vain, Roy Nelson Layosa, also of Tanggol Kalikasan, said they are planning to officially send the complaint-petition to President Arroyo who is the “better person to call for an investigation” and not any of the DENR personnel.
Among the DENR’s alleged questionable dealings in the implementation of the projects of which the NGO wanted investigated by Arroyo-designated independent probe body:
•The actual organizational set-up, nature and the present status of the private contractors who were awarded with project contracts.
•The exact locations and specific zones of the agro-forestry/reforestation projects since Mt. Isarog had been divided into several zones such as restoration zones, strict protection zones and multiple use zones.
•The actual project cost of each contract.
•The results of biddings conducted for every project.
•How much mobilization funds have already been released for a specific project.
•Original copies of the memorandum of agreement (memo-ag) entered into and by the DENR and the contracting parties for each project.
•The kinds of trees to be planted in the area should be indigenous and not the ones being imported from other countries. This, in order to ensure that they will survive in the area.
•The actual status/condition of each project at present.
•Valid proof or document showing that none among the community-based organizations in the project site has the capability or has manifested their willingness and interest to undertake the project.
•Valid proof or document that each project has gone through proper deliberations/discussions with the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) in the area.
Layosa said they would also inform President Arroyo about the alleged wanton violations by the DENR of the provisions contained in the National Integrated Protected Areas Systems Act of 1992 (NIPAS Act).
The PAMB
The Mt. Isarog Protected Area Management Board was created to protect the mountain and its forest cover with the following members: representatives of the 23 barangays situated at the foot of Mt. Isarog, 7 LGUs (six municipalities, 1 city), and three representatives from non-government organizations/local community organizations, and if necessary, one representative from other departments or national government agencies involved in protected area management.
The Board shall, by a majority vote, decide the allocations for budget, approve proposals for funding, and decide matters relating to planning, peripheral protection and general administration of the area in accordance with the general management strategy.
The members of the Board shall serve for a term of five years without compensation, except for actual and necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. They will be appointed by the Secretary of the DENR.
Pili experience
San Luis, a DENR employee for over 15 years before he became the town’s chief executive officer, said the municipal government has been constantly monitoring operations and activities happening within Mt. Isarog. He said his municipality keeps a standing co-management agreement with the DENR wherein the local government has been undertaking and maintaining a reforestation project on the expanse of 161 ha in Sitio Boncao, Barangay Curry.
Layosa said this watershed reforestation project by the municipality should be emulated by other local government units which possess corporate character to prevent the DENR from awarding project contracts to other entities that are not community-based.
San Luis said the non-inclusion of community-based organizations in the reforestation projects is a violation of the PAMB’s Resolution No. 1 which favors the awarding of project contracts to community-based organizations. He said it is essential and significant to tap the services of community-based organizations in reforestation projects to ensure satisfactory forest protection.
150-ha project
A female NGO worker who spoke on condition of anonymity assailed DENR’s non-inclusion of a group of residents in its reforestation project in Brgy. Sto. Niño, Ocampo, Camarines Sur. She said the government agency has been continuously ignoring their pleas to participate in the reforestation program.
“Dapat pagmakulgan asin tabangan kan DENR an mga residentes sa paagi nin pagtao sainda nin alternatibong hanapbuhay sa mismong lugar na saindang pigeestaran,” she said.
The Naga City-based NGO personnel said they could not understand why the reforestation projects intended in the area were awarded to a Ragay-based NGO in violation of PAMB’s resolution.
She said the head of the contracting Ragay-based NGO’s is a brother of a former DENR employee who worked in the agency for almost 39 years.
The source further discovered that one of the DENR’s projects in the area needs at least 150 hectares when in fact the barangay’s actual protected area was only a little more than 52 hectares.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Kaayusan at Kapakinabanagan ng Taal Lake Patuloy na Isusulong
By: Edwin V. Zabarte
Pinulong ni Batangas Governor Vilma Santos- Recto ang mga pinuno ng mga ahensya na kasapi ng Task Force Lake Taal noong ika- 29 ng Oktubre 2008. Ang pulong ay may kaugnayan s sa mga hakabang na na isakatuparan na ng TF Taal Lake at iba pang Programang pankapaligiran ng kanyang administrsayon.
Ang pulong ay dinaluhan ng mga ahensya ng Pamahalaang Panlalawigan na kaspi ng Task Force, National Agencies Tulad ng , DENR-PENRO, CENRO Phil. Coast Guard, Phil Coconut Authority at Tanggol Kalikasan.(mam,’ cnt remember other agencies kindly indicate thanks)
Ang mga ahensyang ito ay isa isang nagbigay ng accomplishement sa harap ni Gov. Vi at isinumite rin dito ang kanilang mga livelihood and other action plans para sa kaayusan ng paligid ng Taal Lake.
Naging sentro ng usapin ditto ang hakbang na isasagawa ng TF sa pagsasaayos ng Lake Areas kung saan inaasahan magiging mahirap ang operasyon dhilan ng malaking bilang ng mga fishcages sa paligid nito.
Sa harap ni Governor Vi ay binalangkas ng grupo ang mga alternative programs na ipatutupad ng pamahalaan sa mga taong apektado ng pag sasaayos at paglilinis ng Lake Taal.
Isa sa mga proyektong pin tuunan ng lupon ay ang mga proyektong turismo at pangkabuhayan na isinusulong ng mga local chief executives ng mga bayan sa paligid nito na direktang pakikinabangan ng kanilang mga nasasakupan.
Sa operasyon ng paglilinis ng Lake Taal, binigyang diin pa rin ng Gobernadora ang katatayuan ng mga mamamyan sa paligid nito..” Nanatili pa rin ang aking kagustuhan na mailigtas ay maisaayos ang simbolo ng lalawigan, subalit hindi dapat maging bigla at drastic ang aksyon na isasagawa natin, we must formulate a plan for a win win situation, kailangan natin bigyan ng matibay na kabuhayan ang mga nakapaligid ditto, upang hindi na sila bumalik sa nakagisnan uri ng pangingisda”.
Hiniling din nito ang pakiisa ng National Agencies na magkaroon ng plano ukol sa pinansyal na aspeto ng opersyon at alternative Livelihood Programs. “ we must do are share to make our vision for Taal Lake and make it sustainable” pagtatapos ni Governor Santos-Recto.
Pinulong ni Batangas Governor Vilma Santos- Recto ang mga pinuno ng mga ahensya na kasapi ng Task Force Lake Taal noong ika- 29 ng Oktubre 2008. Ang pulong ay may kaugnayan s sa mga hakabang na na isakatuparan na ng TF Taal Lake at iba pang Programang pankapaligiran ng kanyang administrsayon.
Ang pulong ay dinaluhan ng mga ahensya ng Pamahalaang Panlalawigan na kaspi ng Task Force, National Agencies Tulad ng , DENR-PENRO, CENRO Phil. Coast Guard, Phil Coconut Authority at Tanggol Kalikasan.(mam,’ cnt remember other agencies kindly indicate thanks)
Ang mga ahensyang ito ay isa isang nagbigay ng accomplishement sa harap ni Gov. Vi at isinumite rin dito ang kanilang mga livelihood and other action plans para sa kaayusan ng paligid ng Taal Lake.
Naging sentro ng usapin ditto ang hakbang na isasagawa ng TF sa pagsasaayos ng Lake Areas kung saan inaasahan magiging mahirap ang operasyon dhilan ng malaking bilang ng mga fishcages sa paligid nito.
Sa harap ni Governor Vi ay binalangkas ng grupo ang mga alternative programs na ipatutupad ng pamahalaan sa mga taong apektado ng pag sasaayos at paglilinis ng Lake Taal.
Isa sa mga proyektong pin tuunan ng lupon ay ang mga proyektong turismo at pangkabuhayan na isinusulong ng mga local chief executives ng mga bayan sa paligid nito na direktang pakikinabangan ng kanilang mga nasasakupan.
Sa operasyon ng paglilinis ng Lake Taal, binigyang diin pa rin ng Gobernadora ang katatayuan ng mga mamamyan sa paligid nito..” Nanatili pa rin ang aking kagustuhan na mailigtas ay maisaayos ang simbolo ng lalawigan, subalit hindi dapat maging bigla at drastic ang aksyon na isasagawa natin, we must formulate a plan for a win win situation, kailangan natin bigyan ng matibay na kabuhayan ang mga nakapaligid ditto, upang hindi na sila bumalik sa nakagisnan uri ng pangingisda”.
Hiniling din nito ang pakiisa ng National Agencies na magkaroon ng plano ukol sa pinansyal na aspeto ng opersyon at alternative Livelihood Programs. “ we must do are share to make our vision for Taal Lake and make it sustainable” pagtatapos ni Governor Santos-Recto.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Bigyan Pagkakataon Ang Kalikasan
Posted by balitangpabloy
By: NANI CORTEZ
Kahit matindi ang lakas ng ulan ay hindi natinag ang mula anim hanggang pitong libong katao na binubuo ng mga propesyunal, manggagawa at karamihang mag-aaral sa idinaos na Yakap sa Law noong Biyernes. Ito ay nangangahulugan lamang na marami ang naniniwalang ang lahat ay dapat kumilos alang-alang sa kalikasan.
May mga nagsasabing aabot sana sa sampung libo ang pariticipant kung hindi bumuhos ang ulan mula madaling araw hanggang sa buong maghapon. Ang ibang mag-aaral partikular ang mga nasa elementarya ay hindi na pinaalis ng mga guro sa paaralan sa payo na rin ng kani-kanilang mga magulang.
Natuloy ang simbolikong kapit-bisig sa Amante Stadium ng Central School sa kabila ng langitngit ng ulan. Kay aya sanang pagmasdan kung sa gilid mismo ng Sampalok Lake ito naganap kung ipinahintulot lamang ng panahon, magkaganoon man ay nakamit din ng Yakap sa Lawa ang banal nitong layunin.
Napag-isa nito ang maraming sektor ng lipunan tungo sa iisang paniniwala na kinakailangan nang tumayo at manindigan ang lahat para sa kapaligiran at para sa kalikasan. Sumasaludo ang pitak na ito sa mga nagtaguyod ng proyektong ito, sa mga NGO, samahang sibiko at Pamahalaang Lunsod ng San Pablo. Si Arvin Carandang ang nakipagtalastasan sa lahat upang itoy ganap na maging tagumpay.
Sa darating na Oktubre 22-24 ay magdaraos naman ng seminar-workshop ang Tanggol Kalikasan para sa mga media practitioners ng Camarines Sur, Batangas at Laguna sa Nawawalang Paraiso sa Lunsod ng Tayabas. Ito ay sa ilalim ng kanilang Wetlands Conservation Program at itataguyod ng Ecosystem Grant Program ng bansang The Netherlands.
Iisa ang ibig sabihin ng mga ito, na samakatuwid ay iisa rin ang mensahe. Lubhang malala na ang suliranin natin sa aspeto ng kapaligiran kung kaya’t nararapat nang mabatid ng lahat upang hindi man direktang makatulong ay hindi na makadagdag pa sa bumibigat na problemang pang-kalikasan.
Kay tagal nang inaabuso ng tao ang kapaligiran at kinakailangan nang malaman kung ano ang dapat at hindi nararapat gawin upang ang mga ito’y mahinto na.
May kaselanan na ang sitwasyon na dapat nang bigyan ng pansin. Kailangan na ang pagbabago ng pananaw ng bawat isa bago mahuli ang lahat. Bigyan natin ng pagkakataon ang kalikasan.
By: NANI CORTEZ
Kahit matindi ang lakas ng ulan ay hindi natinag ang mula anim hanggang pitong libong katao na binubuo ng mga propesyunal, manggagawa at karamihang mag-aaral sa idinaos na Yakap sa Law noong Biyernes. Ito ay nangangahulugan lamang na marami ang naniniwalang ang lahat ay dapat kumilos alang-alang sa kalikasan.
May mga nagsasabing aabot sana sa sampung libo ang pariticipant kung hindi bumuhos ang ulan mula madaling araw hanggang sa buong maghapon. Ang ibang mag-aaral partikular ang mga nasa elementarya ay hindi na pinaalis ng mga guro sa paaralan sa payo na rin ng kani-kanilang mga magulang.
Natuloy ang simbolikong kapit-bisig sa Amante Stadium ng Central School sa kabila ng langitngit ng ulan. Kay aya sanang pagmasdan kung sa gilid mismo ng Sampalok Lake ito naganap kung ipinahintulot lamang ng panahon, magkaganoon man ay nakamit din ng Yakap sa Lawa ang banal nitong layunin.
Napag-isa nito ang maraming sektor ng lipunan tungo sa iisang paniniwala na kinakailangan nang tumayo at manindigan ang lahat para sa kapaligiran at para sa kalikasan. Sumasaludo ang pitak na ito sa mga nagtaguyod ng proyektong ito, sa mga NGO, samahang sibiko at Pamahalaang Lunsod ng San Pablo. Si Arvin Carandang ang nakipagtalastasan sa lahat upang itoy ganap na maging tagumpay.
Sa darating na Oktubre 22-24 ay magdaraos naman ng seminar-workshop ang Tanggol Kalikasan para sa mga media practitioners ng Camarines Sur, Batangas at Laguna sa Nawawalang Paraiso sa Lunsod ng Tayabas. Ito ay sa ilalim ng kanilang Wetlands Conservation Program at itataguyod ng Ecosystem Grant Program ng bansang The Netherlands.
Iisa ang ibig sabihin ng mga ito, na samakatuwid ay iisa rin ang mensahe. Lubhang malala na ang suliranin natin sa aspeto ng kapaligiran kung kaya’t nararapat nang mabatid ng lahat upang hindi man direktang makatulong ay hindi na makadagdag pa sa bumibigat na problemang pang-kalikasan.
Kay tagal nang inaabuso ng tao ang kapaligiran at kinakailangan nang malaman kung ano ang dapat at hindi nararapat gawin upang ang mga ito’y mahinto na.
May kaselanan na ang sitwasyon na dapat nang bigyan ng pansin. Kailangan na ang pagbabago ng pananaw ng bawat isa bago mahuli ang lahat. Bigyan natin ng pagkakataon ang kalikasan.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Laguna firm pays heavily for dumping toxic wastes
GMANews.TV
MANILA, Philippines — A company bearing the name “clean earth" was ordered to pay a P7.4-million fine for dumping 900 metric tons of toxic wastes into in different places in Quezon province in 2006.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also barred Clean Earth Solutions International Inc. (CESII), a company based in San Pablo City, Laguna, from resuming its operations.
In a three-page order, the DENR’s Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) said it was allowing the company a limited operation “only for the purpose of treating the remaining waste inside the compound."
The DENR issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) against CESII on October 5, 2006 after it was found to have buried 400 drums of hazardous wastes near a creek, in an agricultural lot, and an abandoned oil recovery facility at barangay Manguilag Norte in Candelaria town and and Sitio Liberty and Sitio Central in barangay Concepcion 1, Sariaya town.
Dumping of toxic wastes is a gross violation of the Clean Air Act.
Also named respondents in the case were spouses Sabas and Helen Ilagan, who claimed they were commissioned by engineer Salvador Llave Jr., managing head of CESII, to illegally dispose the hazardous wastes.
The DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in the Calabarzon region, acting on the complaint of environment group Tanggol Kalikasan, conducted on September 26, 2006 an initial investigation into the illegal dumping of hazardous wastes in an agricultural lot in barangay Manguilag Norte.
During the investigation, authorities found drums purportedly containing sulfuric acid with generator’s name Procter and Gamble Philippines located at LISP-1 Cabuyao in Laguna, and a permit to transport.
Tracing from their records, the EMB-Calabrzon said that the PTT number noted from the label of the confiscated drums of toxic wastes was issued for transport of 5,000 kilograms of sulfuric acid and 5,000 kilograms of mixed acid (B299) for treatment and disposal at CESII.
On September 27, the EMB-Calabazron conducted another investigation and confirmed the existence of hazardous wastes dumped or drained into a series of holes excavated in a lot.
The EMB-Calabarzon discovered other names of waste generators such as Union Carbide, BASF Philippines, Solvetech Consultancy Resources Inc., and scad Services Ltd.
On September 29 of the same year, the EMB-Calabarzon went to validate reports of similar illegal activity in Sariaya and found the two sites purportedly utilized as dumpsites for hazardous wastes. The operation also yielded 410 empty drums, and 55 drums still containing toxic wastes.
At sitio Liberty, the toxic wastes were found dumped into four excavated holes, while at sitio Central, the toxic wastes were discovered near a creek.
The EMB-Calabarzon said that based on their records, the waste generators identified through the recovered containers of toxic wastes in Sariaya have an exclusive contract with CESII.
Although the CESII reported on October 4, 2006 that several drums from their backyard were stolen, the DENR-PAB noted that the company was not able to submit evidence to support its report.
MANILA, Philippines — A company bearing the name “clean earth" was ordered to pay a P7.4-million fine for dumping 900 metric tons of toxic wastes into in different places in Quezon province in 2006.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also barred Clean Earth Solutions International Inc. (CESII), a company based in San Pablo City, Laguna, from resuming its operations.
In a three-page order, the DENR’s Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) said it was allowing the company a limited operation “only for the purpose of treating the remaining waste inside the compound."
The DENR issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) against CESII on October 5, 2006 after it was found to have buried 400 drums of hazardous wastes near a creek, in an agricultural lot, and an abandoned oil recovery facility at barangay Manguilag Norte in Candelaria town and and Sitio Liberty and Sitio Central in barangay Concepcion 1, Sariaya town.
Dumping of toxic wastes is a gross violation of the Clean Air Act.
Also named respondents in the case were spouses Sabas and Helen Ilagan, who claimed they were commissioned by engineer Salvador Llave Jr., managing head of CESII, to illegally dispose the hazardous wastes.
The DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in the Calabarzon region, acting on the complaint of environment group Tanggol Kalikasan, conducted on September 26, 2006 an initial investigation into the illegal dumping of hazardous wastes in an agricultural lot in barangay Manguilag Norte.
During the investigation, authorities found drums purportedly containing sulfuric acid with generator’s name Procter and Gamble Philippines located at LISP-1 Cabuyao in Laguna, and a permit to transport.
Tracing from their records, the EMB-Calabrzon said that the PTT number noted from the label of the confiscated drums of toxic wastes was issued for transport of 5,000 kilograms of sulfuric acid and 5,000 kilograms of mixed acid (B299) for treatment and disposal at CESII.
On September 27, the EMB-Calabazron conducted another investigation and confirmed the existence of hazardous wastes dumped or drained into a series of holes excavated in a lot.
The EMB-Calabarzon discovered other names of waste generators such as Union Carbide, BASF Philippines, Solvetech Consultancy Resources Inc., and scad Services Ltd.
On September 29 of the same year, the EMB-Calabarzon went to validate reports of similar illegal activity in Sariaya and found the two sites purportedly utilized as dumpsites for hazardous wastes. The operation also yielded 410 empty drums, and 55 drums still containing toxic wastes.
At sitio Liberty, the toxic wastes were found dumped into four excavated holes, while at sitio Central, the toxic wastes were discovered near a creek.
The EMB-Calabarzon said that based on their records, the waste generators identified through the recovered containers of toxic wastes in Sariaya have an exclusive contract with CESII.
Although the CESII reported on October 4, 2006 that several drums from their backyard were stolen, the DENR-PAB noted that the company was not able to submit evidence to support its report.
Friday, August 8, 2008
DENR appoints bishop head of anti-illegal logging groups in Sierra Madre
Author: Ira Karen Apanay
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday named Bishop Rolando Tria Tirona to head the citizens’ arm against illegal logging activities in the mountainous areas of Sierra Madre.
Tirona will oversee two environmental watchdog bodies in the fight against illegal logging in the Sierra Madre mountain ranges.
Tirona, head of the prelature of Infanta, will act as “co-chairman” for two multi-partite teams which Atienza authorized, among others, to devise monitoring schemes within the Sierra Madre area to prevent further logging in areas that are part of northern Quezon and Aurora provinces.
The teams have been fighting illegal logging especially in the towns of Real, Infanta and General Nakar in Quezon. Head of the teams are Fr. Pete Montallana of the Indigenous Peoples Apostolate of the Diocese of Infanta and that environmentalist group Task Force Sierra Madre (TFSM), and environmental lawyer Shiela de Leon of Tanggol Kalikasan.
In April, DENR Secretary Lito Atienza relieved former Dingalan DENR-Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer Meliton Vicente after confirming reports from Fr. Montallana’s group that illegal logging operations in Dingalan, Aurora had resumed and that hot logs were being clandestinely smuggled out through the Nueva Ecija and Rizal routes for transport to sawmills and lumberyards in Metro Manila.
The DENR said in a statement that Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officers Herminigildo Jocson for Quezon and Benjamin Mina for Aurora will work with Tirona as chairpersons of the two teams, respectively.
Under the memorandum order, the teams can call on other concerned offices or officials that can assist in getting their tasks done.
The teams are also authorized to recommend “any or all of its members and any person” to be deputized as Environment and Natural Resources Officers.
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday named Bishop Rolando Tria Tirona to head the citizens’ arm against illegal logging activities in the mountainous areas of Sierra Madre.
Tirona will oversee two environmental watchdog bodies in the fight against illegal logging in the Sierra Madre mountain ranges.
Tirona, head of the prelature of Infanta, will act as “co-chairman” for two multi-partite teams which Atienza authorized, among others, to devise monitoring schemes within the Sierra Madre area to prevent further logging in areas that are part of northern Quezon and Aurora provinces.
The teams have been fighting illegal logging especially in the towns of Real, Infanta and General Nakar in Quezon. Head of the teams are Fr. Pete Montallana of the Indigenous Peoples Apostolate of the Diocese of Infanta and that environmentalist group Task Force Sierra Madre (TFSM), and environmental lawyer Shiela de Leon of Tanggol Kalikasan.
In April, DENR Secretary Lito Atienza relieved former Dingalan DENR-Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer Meliton Vicente after confirming reports from Fr. Montallana’s group that illegal logging operations in Dingalan, Aurora had resumed and that hot logs were being clandestinely smuggled out through the Nueva Ecija and Rizal routes for transport to sawmills and lumberyards in Metro Manila.
The DENR said in a statement that Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officers Herminigildo Jocson for Quezon and Benjamin Mina for Aurora will work with Tirona as chairpersons of the two teams, respectively.
Under the memorandum order, the teams can call on other concerned offices or officials that can assist in getting their tasks done.
The teams are also authorized to recommend “any or all of its members and any person” to be deputized as Environment and Natural Resources Officers.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Boracay’s biggest hotel project seen to destroy wetland
By ISAGANI DE CASTRO JR.
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak
The businessman behind Boracay’s largest hotel-condominium project is defying orders from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to halt construction of his project, which environment officials said will destroy a wetland in the country’s top beach destination.
The P1.2 billion Boracay Crown Regency Hotel and Convention Center will be the “biggest hotel in Boracay” and will “put Boracay on the world map,” said Richard King, chair of J. King and Sons Co. Inc., the firm behind the project.
The project will add 457 hotel rooms in Boracay, and its convention center will accommodate 1,800 people. The whole hotel complex, which includes a water park, is scheduled to be completed in 2010.
“I won’t stop the project. I have all the necessary permits,” King told reporters Wednesday.
That’s bad news for Boracay’s eco-system, which is already under threat from pollution and congestion brought about by heavy tourist inflows and tourism facilities development. An average of 50,000 tourists visit Boracay monthly.
No ECC
Bienvenido Lipayon, regional director of the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region 6, told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that Mr. King’s hotel-convention project will have a negative impact on a nearby wetland. “The wetland, or a portion of the wetland, will be destroyed,” he said in a telephone interview.
According to the conservation group Wetlands International, wetlands “provide services of great value to society” since “they control floods, protect coastal zones and they host a great diversity of species.”
Lipayon has already sent J. King and Sons Co. Inc. a letter advising the company to “cease and desist” its construction “until an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) is secured from this office.”
The DENR’s Provincial Environment and Natural Resources (PENR) officer Raul Lorilla, in a February 11, 2008 letter to J. King and Sons Co., said “some concerned residents of Boracay island” have complained about the project.
Lorilla said construction of the hotel is already destroying the wetland since water used in the construction is filling it up.
“In view of the adverse impact of this undertaking to our wetland and our environment, you are hereby advised to cease and desist from further filling up this wetland areas until after an authority from the DENR is secured,” Lorilla said.
“Be advised further that this body of water serves as the recharge area of the aquifer that maintains the balance and quality of the ground water,” he said.
Not a wetland
Richard King disagreed with DENR officials, saying the project will not have a bad impact on the wetland.
Rafael King, vice-president of J. King & Sons Co. Inc., even disputed the DENR’s contention that the affected area is a wetland. In a February 13 reply-letter to Lorilla, he said: “The ‘wetland’ that you referred to was created due to stormwater run-off from the nearby properties being diverted to our project site.”
Asked to comment on this, Lipayon told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that experts from the DENR’s Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) have attested that it is a wetland area.
Richard King admitted his firm’s hotel project does not have an ECC, but said this was due to the failure of DENR to act on their ECC application.
J. King & Sons Co. Inc. submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment Study (EIAS) and application for ECC in September 12, 2007, but the DENR returned them on September 17, 2007 after DENR Secretary Joselito Atienza called for a moratorium on new construction of structures in Boracay.
Lipayon said the regional office had no choice but to return the ECC application after Atienza’s pronouncement.
Moratorium
After a consultation with stakeholders in mid-2007, Atienza proposed a moratorium on new construction activities, except government public utilities projects, on Boracay in light of the island’s environmental degradation
The moratorium was passed in October 2007 by the local government of Malay, Aklan, where most resorts are located. It took effect January 2 and will end on July 2, 2008. The local government is supposed to enforce the moratorium.
The six-month construction ban on structures such as hotels and apartments is also intended to give Boracay’s stakeholders time to complete its land use plan and a master development plan to “forestall and reverse environmental degradation.”
“Rapid growth threatens the viability of Boracay as a tourist destination,” Atienza said in January this year after the moratorium took effect. “Aside from the nagging problems of lack of water supply, overcrowding and waste disposal, the problem of flooding now also haunts Boracay.”
“Even the forests in Boracay have been depleted, and several residential and tourism facilities have been constructed on mountain slopes. These activities will eventually compromise public safety,” he said.
The master plan is seen as a “comprehensive strategy to keep excellent air and water quality, ample forest cover, solid waste management, and even containing floods in the resort island,” the DENR said.
It also said that “Boracay resort owners welcomed the total stop in construction activities and the moratorium on the issuance of construction permits.”
Not covered by moratorium
King told reporters Wednesday his hotel project is not covered by the six-month moratorium since they secured the necessary building and other permits in October 2007 or three months before the start of the moratorium on January 2, 2008.
King said DENR’s failure to act on their application for an ECC means an automatic approval of the permit as provided under a DENR administrative order in 2003. This order says that ECC applications “not acted upon within a specified time frame from the date of filing are deemed approved automatically.”
NGOs support moratorium
In an interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, Raul Barbarona, executive director of the Cebu-based Environmental Legal Assistance Center, lamented that despite the moratorium on new construction, projects such as the Crown Regency Hotel and Convention Center are still being implemented.
“They’ve not been able to stop all construction,” he said.
Barbarona said there has been “too much construction” on Boracay, and the moratorium was based on Boracay island’s “carrying capacity.”
Environmental lawyer Maria Paz Luna, president of Tanggol Kalikasan (Defense of Nature) told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that in the case of Boracay, “obviously the state of water quality and resources there” already show the island has exceeded its carrying capacity.
Barbarona said the continued construction of the Crown Regency project and of other projects on Boracay shows “lack of political will” especially by the local government, which is supposed to implement it.
He also disagreed with King’s view that the ECC is deemed approved if not acted upon within a certain period. “The ECC is a list of conditions that the project proponent must comply with,” he said. “If there’s no ECC, there should be no construction.”
Although there is a DENR order which streamlines the ECC applications, Barbarona said it does not mean that a project can proceed even without an ECC. This circular should also not be used to “pressure the DENR into approving the ECC.”
Barbarona said the DENR can impose penalties on J. King & Sons for not following the proper procedures.
Lipayon said J. King & Sons has already asked a regional trial court in Aklan to issue a restraining order that seeks to stop the DENR from enforcing its order to the firm to stop construction of the project. A hearing has been set on May 29.
as of 05/22/2008 10:36 AM
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak
The businessman behind Boracay’s largest hotel-condominium project is defying orders from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to halt construction of his project, which environment officials said will destroy a wetland in the country’s top beach destination.
The P1.2 billion Boracay Crown Regency Hotel and Convention Center will be the “biggest hotel in Boracay” and will “put Boracay on the world map,” said Richard King, chair of J. King and Sons Co. Inc., the firm behind the project.
The project will add 457 hotel rooms in Boracay, and its convention center will accommodate 1,800 people. The whole hotel complex, which includes a water park, is scheduled to be completed in 2010.
“I won’t stop the project. I have all the necessary permits,” King told reporters Wednesday.
That’s bad news for Boracay’s eco-system, which is already under threat from pollution and congestion brought about by heavy tourist inflows and tourism facilities development. An average of 50,000 tourists visit Boracay monthly.
No ECC
Bienvenido Lipayon, regional director of the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region 6, told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that Mr. King’s hotel-convention project will have a negative impact on a nearby wetland. “The wetland, or a portion of the wetland, will be destroyed,” he said in a telephone interview.
According to the conservation group Wetlands International, wetlands “provide services of great value to society” since “they control floods, protect coastal zones and they host a great diversity of species.”
Lipayon has already sent J. King and Sons Co. Inc. a letter advising the company to “cease and desist” its construction “until an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) is secured from this office.”
The DENR’s Provincial Environment and Natural Resources (PENR) officer Raul Lorilla, in a February 11, 2008 letter to J. King and Sons Co., said “some concerned residents of Boracay island” have complained about the project.
Lorilla said construction of the hotel is already destroying the wetland since water used in the construction is filling it up.
“In view of the adverse impact of this undertaking to our wetland and our environment, you are hereby advised to cease and desist from further filling up this wetland areas until after an authority from the DENR is secured,” Lorilla said.
“Be advised further that this body of water serves as the recharge area of the aquifer that maintains the balance and quality of the ground water,” he said.
Not a wetland
Richard King disagreed with DENR officials, saying the project will not have a bad impact on the wetland.
Rafael King, vice-president of J. King & Sons Co. Inc., even disputed the DENR’s contention that the affected area is a wetland. In a February 13 reply-letter to Lorilla, he said: “The ‘wetland’ that you referred to was created due to stormwater run-off from the nearby properties being diverted to our project site.”
Asked to comment on this, Lipayon told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that experts from the DENR’s Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) have attested that it is a wetland area.
Richard King admitted his firm’s hotel project does not have an ECC, but said this was due to the failure of DENR to act on their ECC application.
J. King & Sons Co. Inc. submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment Study (EIAS) and application for ECC in September 12, 2007, but the DENR returned them on September 17, 2007 after DENR Secretary Joselito Atienza called for a moratorium on new construction of structures in Boracay.
Lipayon said the regional office had no choice but to return the ECC application after Atienza’s pronouncement.
Moratorium
After a consultation with stakeholders in mid-2007, Atienza proposed a moratorium on new construction activities, except government public utilities projects, on Boracay in light of the island’s environmental degradation
The moratorium was passed in October 2007 by the local government of Malay, Aklan, where most resorts are located. It took effect January 2 and will end on July 2, 2008. The local government is supposed to enforce the moratorium.
The six-month construction ban on structures such as hotels and apartments is also intended to give Boracay’s stakeholders time to complete its land use plan and a master development plan to “forestall and reverse environmental degradation.”
“Rapid growth threatens the viability of Boracay as a tourist destination,” Atienza said in January this year after the moratorium took effect. “Aside from the nagging problems of lack of water supply, overcrowding and waste disposal, the problem of flooding now also haunts Boracay.”
“Even the forests in Boracay have been depleted, and several residential and tourism facilities have been constructed on mountain slopes. These activities will eventually compromise public safety,” he said.
The master plan is seen as a “comprehensive strategy to keep excellent air and water quality, ample forest cover, solid waste management, and even containing floods in the resort island,” the DENR said.
It also said that “Boracay resort owners welcomed the total stop in construction activities and the moratorium on the issuance of construction permits.”
Not covered by moratorium
King told reporters Wednesday his hotel project is not covered by the six-month moratorium since they secured the necessary building and other permits in October 2007 or three months before the start of the moratorium on January 2, 2008.
King said DENR’s failure to act on their application for an ECC means an automatic approval of the permit as provided under a DENR administrative order in 2003. This order says that ECC applications “not acted upon within a specified time frame from the date of filing are deemed approved automatically.”
NGOs support moratorium
In an interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, Raul Barbarona, executive director of the Cebu-based Environmental Legal Assistance Center, lamented that despite the moratorium on new construction, projects such as the Crown Regency Hotel and Convention Center are still being implemented.
“They’ve not been able to stop all construction,” he said.
Barbarona said there has been “too much construction” on Boracay, and the moratorium was based on Boracay island’s “carrying capacity.”
Environmental lawyer Maria Paz Luna, president of Tanggol Kalikasan (Defense of Nature) told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that in the case of Boracay, “obviously the state of water quality and resources there” already show the island has exceeded its carrying capacity.
Barbarona said the continued construction of the Crown Regency project and of other projects on Boracay shows “lack of political will” especially by the local government, which is supposed to implement it.
He also disagreed with King’s view that the ECC is deemed approved if not acted upon within a certain period. “The ECC is a list of conditions that the project proponent must comply with,” he said. “If there’s no ECC, there should be no construction.”
Although there is a DENR order which streamlines the ECC applications, Barbarona said it does not mean that a project can proceed even without an ECC. This circular should also not be used to “pressure the DENR into approving the ECC.”
Barbarona said the DENR can impose penalties on J. King & Sons for not following the proper procedures.
Lipayon said J. King & Sons has already asked a regional trial court in Aklan to issue a restraining order that seeks to stop the DENR from enforcing its order to the firm to stop construction of the project. A hearing has been set on May 29.
as of 05/22/2008 10:36 AM
Monday, April 7, 2008
Quezon task force seizes cargo of alleged young whale sharks
By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Southern Luzon Bureau
LUCENA CITY -- A cargo of baby sharks, four of them allegedly from the “butanding” (whale sharks) species were intercepted in nearby Pagbilao town early Monday by a task force of provincial fishery officials and environmentalists, an official said.
Glenn Forbes, Tanggol Kalikasan-Southern Tagalog program officer, said that on Sunday evening a concerned citizen and a local government official from the coastal town of Calauag, Quezon province tipped them off through a mobile phone that several baby “butandings” would be transported to Manila.
“We were alarmed when we were told that several newly born ‘butandings’ from Lamon Bay would be smuggled out. We could not let that happen,” said Forbes.
He said he immediately alerted the Quezon Task Force Karagatan/Sagip Kalikasan headed by Allan Castillo of the provincial agriculture office and, along with several policemen, set up a checkpoint in front of the Pagbilao town hall.
At around 1 a.m. on Monday, the group flagged down a cargo jeepney being driven by one Alberto Abat.
When searched, the vehicle yielded live "lapu-lapu" (groupers) and assorted ornamental fish in several plastic bags with oxygen tubes attached to the containers.
Hidden among the piles was a plastic bag with oxygen, which contained nine newly born sharks measuring half a foot to one foot in length.
Forbes said the owner of the fish cargo, a certain Analie Abat from Barangay (village) Sto. Angel, Calauag, admitted that she owned the fish cargo, including the sharks which she also called “butanding.”
The shark has random white stripes and dots, markings similar to the “butanding.”
Abat, according to Forbes, claimed that she bought the sharks from local fishermen for P20 each and that she intended to deliver them to an undisclosed place in Metro Manila.
“Four of the baby sharks looked like ‘butanding’ but they also looked like ‘coral catfish’ shark species. We’re still awaiting the official confirmation from BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources] if it’s really butanding,” he said.
Forbes said four were confirmed to be “long tail carpet” while the species of the remaining one was still unknown.
He expressed alarmed that if the newborn shark species were confirmed to be “butanding,” most probably they would be smuggled out of the country.
Forbes said they allowed the fish traders to be released after several hours of investigation pending official confirmation of the shark species.
However, Castillo said there was no need for the official confirmation from BFAR. “The sharks were definitely not butanding,” he said.
The “butanding” is considered the biggest shark and the biggest fish in the sea, with some measuring up to 20 meters long and weighing up to 34,000 kilograms.
Two years ago, Lamon Bay fishermen celebrated the reappearance of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), indicating renewed vibrancy of marine life in the bay.
Whale sharks in Lamon Bay were common during the 1980s. They slowly disappeared because of irresponsible fishermen who feasted on their meat.
The group brought the shark species to TK office and placed them in an aquarium.
Unfortunately, three of the “long tail carpet” sharks died.
“We suspected that the sharks, including the groupers, were caught through cyanide fishing methods. And since they were newly born, their tender bodies were not able to withstand the toxic poison,” Zeny Bernal, TK marine office, said.
Southern Luzon Bureau
LUCENA CITY -- A cargo of baby sharks, four of them allegedly from the “butanding” (whale sharks) species were intercepted in nearby Pagbilao town early Monday by a task force of provincial fishery officials and environmentalists, an official said.
Glenn Forbes, Tanggol Kalikasan-Southern Tagalog program officer, said that on Sunday evening a concerned citizen and a local government official from the coastal town of Calauag, Quezon province tipped them off through a mobile phone that several baby “butandings” would be transported to Manila.
“We were alarmed when we were told that several newly born ‘butandings’ from Lamon Bay would be smuggled out. We could not let that happen,” said Forbes.
He said he immediately alerted the Quezon Task Force Karagatan/Sagip Kalikasan headed by Allan Castillo of the provincial agriculture office and, along with several policemen, set up a checkpoint in front of the Pagbilao town hall.
At around 1 a.m. on Monday, the group flagged down a cargo jeepney being driven by one Alberto Abat.
When searched, the vehicle yielded live "lapu-lapu" (groupers) and assorted ornamental fish in several plastic bags with oxygen tubes attached to the containers.
Hidden among the piles was a plastic bag with oxygen, which contained nine newly born sharks measuring half a foot to one foot in length.
Forbes said the owner of the fish cargo, a certain Analie Abat from Barangay (village) Sto. Angel, Calauag, admitted that she owned the fish cargo, including the sharks which she also called “butanding.”
The shark has random white stripes and dots, markings similar to the “butanding.”
Abat, according to Forbes, claimed that she bought the sharks from local fishermen for P20 each and that she intended to deliver them to an undisclosed place in Metro Manila.
“Four of the baby sharks looked like ‘butanding’ but they also looked like ‘coral catfish’ shark species. We’re still awaiting the official confirmation from BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources] if it’s really butanding,” he said.
Forbes said four were confirmed to be “long tail carpet” while the species of the remaining one was still unknown.
He expressed alarmed that if the newborn shark species were confirmed to be “butanding,” most probably they would be smuggled out of the country.
Forbes said they allowed the fish traders to be released after several hours of investigation pending official confirmation of the shark species.
However, Castillo said there was no need for the official confirmation from BFAR. “The sharks were definitely not butanding,” he said.
The “butanding” is considered the biggest shark and the biggest fish in the sea, with some measuring up to 20 meters long and weighing up to 34,000 kilograms.
Two years ago, Lamon Bay fishermen celebrated the reappearance of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus), indicating renewed vibrancy of marine life in the bay.
Whale sharks in Lamon Bay were common during the 1980s. They slowly disappeared because of irresponsible fishermen who feasted on their meat.
The group brought the shark species to TK office and placed them in an aquarium.
Unfortunately, three of the “long tail carpet” sharks died.
“We suspected that the sharks, including the groupers, were caught through cyanide fishing methods. And since they were newly born, their tender bodies were not able to withstand the toxic poison,” Zeny Bernal, TK marine office, said.
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