DENR exec faces graft raps

The Calabarzon regional director of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, is facing graft charges in the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly illegally closing down a toxic treatment facility in San Pablo City, Laguna.

Roberto Sheen, officer-in-charge of the EMB-Calabarzon office, was named respondent in the graft complaint filed by Joshua Kim, vice president of Clean Earth Solutions International Inc.

In his four-page complaint-affidavit, Kim, a South Korean, accused Sheen of acting with "malicious intent, manifest partiality, evident bad faith and grave abuse of authority" when he served a notice of violation and a cease-and-desist order to Clean Earth for allegedly violating Republic Act 9275, or the Clean Water Act; RA 6969, or the Toxic and Hazardous Waste and Nuclear Waste Act; and Presidential Decree 1586, or the Philippine EIS System.

Because of Sheen’s actions, Kim said Clean Earth’s name and reputation has been "unduly tarnished" and the company incurred actual damages amounting to P80 million.

He said his company’s income losses and unrealized business opportunities would continue if Sheen’s "illegal acts" would not be restrained.

"(Sheen’s) unreasonable, unfair, oppressive, and discriminatory acts, and his malicious intent to injure our company are shown by... (his issuance of) the questioned order in gross violation of our company’s right to due process," Kim said in his complaint-affidavit.

Kim alleged that Sheen hastily and prematurely issued the cease-and-desist order without the prior issuance of a notice of violation and conduct of a technical conference.

He also argued that Sheen served the cease-and-desist order on his company’s industrial waste processing center or solid waste thermal processor facility in San Pablo City "in a sensationalized and high-handed manner meant to prejudice and cause undue injury to our company."

Kim said the cease-and-desist order was not supported by any complaint filed by local residents or the city government of San Pablo.

"There is absolutely no basis to immediately order our company to cease and desist from operating and (Sheen) seriously and gravely abused his authority," he said.

Kim claimed that this could be gleaned from the order itself, which indicated that the toxic and hazardous wastes were found in Sariaya and Candelaria towns in Quezon, some 30 kilometers away from his company’s facilities in San Pablo City.

Kim also questioned Sheen’s motive for allegedly failing and refusing to take any action against a couple who, he said, had admitted their involvement in the illegal transport and dumping of the hazardous wastes in Sariaya and Candelaria.

The couple, Sabas and Helen Ilagan, was caught red-handed during a DENR operation from Sept. 26 to Oct. 3 in Barangay Concepcion I in Sariaya and Barangay Manguilag Norte in Candelaria.

The DENR personnel found open pits filled with the hazardous wastes in three sites. The DENR, however, filed no charges against the Ilagans.

Besides the open pits filled with hazardous wastes, the DENR also found about 500 drums and containers filled with hazardous substances, which allegedly came from Clean Earth.

The DENR suspected that the toxic substances illegally dumped in the open pits came from Clean Earth, based on an affidavit of the Ilagan couple and the labels of the drums which stated the company’s name.

The DENR not only issued a notice of violation and cease-and-desist order to Clean Earth, but also revoked all its permits.