MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang has left it up to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to explain the construction of a condominium inside a forest reserve in the former US naval base.
The DENR is in the best position to clarify the issue since it is tasked to protect the environment, which includes the forest reserves, said Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde.
It has been reported that the South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Ltd. is developing a $455.6-million condominium project within the forest reserve.
Senators Loren Legarda and Juan Miguel Zubiri have called for an inquiry into the project and blamed the DENR for allowing the “destruction” of the rainforest with the project’s development.
Remonde said that the Senate has every right to look into the issue.
However, it must “tread lightly,” considering the status of Hanjin as a major investor in the country, he added.
Hanjin has been paraded by President Arroyo in various speaking engagements as one of the biggest investors in the Philippines, with over $4 billion spent for two shipbuilding and repair facilities.
Remonde said Hanjin is not one of those fly-by-night businesses which tend to ignore the laws of a country.
“We should approach issues like these with care also especially in view of our efforts to attract foreign investors to this country,” he said.
Remonde cautioned all sectors against fault-finding, especially in the case of big foreign investors, which could derail government efforts to attract investments.
It is unlikely that an investor of this size would toy around with the rules and regulations set by the host country, he added.
On the other hand, Sen. Richard Gordon said yesterday the Senate may no longer need to investigate the $455.6-million condominium-hotel project.
Other issues involving Hanjin and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority must be probed, he added.
Gordon said based on his information, there were no environmental laws violated in the construction because no new trees were cut, and the site had been used by the US Navy before.
“I don’t think we should investigate everything we see,” he said.
Gordon, a former SBMA chairman, said the SBMA as a freeport enjoys the autonomy to grant an environmental compliance certificate.
Hanjin followed the laws even if the condo-tel in the middle of the forest is an eyesore, he added.
It would “create a lot of trouble” if the structure would be torn down, he said.
The Department of Labor and Employment should make a report on the alleged complaints of Hanjin Shipyard workers that many laborers had died after they fell from the structure because of exhaustion, Gordon said.
Another case that must be investigated is the SBMA’s alleged decision to allow structures to be built on the beach front for P2 per square meter, which developers would pass on to restaurant owners at $2 per square meter, Gordon said. – Marvin Sy, Aurea Calica