DENR stops town reclamation project

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 has ordered the stoppage of the estimated 8,000-square-meter reclamation project of the municipal government of Boljoon after it was found out that it lacks an Environmental Compliance Certificate.            

In a cease and desist order signed by Environmental Management Bureau-7 regional director William Cunado and addressed to Boljoon Mayor Merlou Derama, the DENR-7 enjoined the municipality to stop the operations in Ili Rock until it is able to comply with the needed permits or clearances like ECC.

ECC is a document issued by the EMB certifying that based on the representations of the proponent, the proposed project or undertaking will not cause significant environmental impact.

“No reclamation project shall be undertaken, conducted and implemented unless the area clearance is first secured from the DENR,” said DENR-7 regional director Dr. Isabelo Montejo.

Montejo added that the clearance shall be valid for one year and reclamation projects must be implemented or must commence within that period, otherwise the permittee has to secure a new area clearance.

The order also imposed a fine of P50,000 for operating without an approved ECC, based on the Presidential Decree 1586 or the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System.

DENR Secretary Ramon Paje, in a press conference yesterday during the inauguration of the DENR-7 regional office building in Sudlon, Lahug, Cebu City, said reclamation is an environmentally critical project that needs to follow the social acceptability requirement by conducting a public hearing or consultation.

  Paje also urged the project proponent to review the Philippine Reclamation Authority law which states that illegal reclamation will be overtaken by the state.

“I am telling them that they have to review the guidelines because they might be losing what they are putting there,” he said.

The requirements for a reclamation include project description; preliminary geohazard assessment of the area; certification on the status of the area and the land classification of the adjacent land by the community environment and natural resources office; and panoramic view.

The activity also needs clearances from the PRA, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Tourism, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Department of Energy, Department of Education and concerned local government units.

DENR-7 information officer Eddie Llamedo, in a statement, said that in a technical conference presided by Montejo with Derama and some DPWH officials last December 4, it was reported that the waste materials from the slope benching of the Ili Rock in the coastal area of sitio Talisay  were dumped in the shoreline.

The municipal council of Boljoon has passed a resolution appealing to DPWH district engineer James Dellosa to immediately put on hold the project until a public hearing is called on the matter.  (FREEMAN)