SC asked to stop Benguet road project

MANILA, Philippines - The head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the government from implementing a road project at the watershed of Mount Santo Tomas in Tuba, Benguet.

In a petition filed yesterday, CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas asked the high court to issue a writ of kalikasan and a temporary protection order (TEPO) stopping a road project of Baguio Rep. Nicasio Aliping.

Villegas said Aliping’s project has destabilized the mountain slope, which resulted in landslides, particularly during heavy downpour.

He said sediments and rocks that roll down contaminate the water in the Amliang dams.

The road project, which starts from Mount Kabuyao highway to Sitio Amliang and Sitio Bekel, resulted in the cutting of at least 306 trees and 455 saplings.

Apart from the writ and TEPO, the petitioner also asked SC to order Aliping to take steps to mitigate contamination of the Amliang dams. 

Villegas urged the high tribunal to order the Tuba municipal government to stop issuing tax declarations on lands within the forest reserve.

He asked the SC to order the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to protect Mount Santo Tomas by deploying personnel to guard against the cutting of trees and illegal excavation.

The CBCP chief alleged that no environmental compliance certificate, tree-cutting or special land use permit, and right of way or excavation permit have been issued for such activities.

 Last June 6, the provincial environment and natural resources office filed a criminal complaint against Aliping and three contractors – Goldrich Construction, R.U. Aquino Construction and Development Corp. and BLC Construction and Aggregates – in connection with the road project.

Villegas said a separate investigation conducted by the Baguio Water District showed the earth-moving activities and the cutting of trees within Mount Santo Tomas resulted in the contamination of water sources.