Lito Atienza's Blog
DUE PROCESS IS A REQUIREMENT OF GOOD GOVERNANCE – SECRETARY LITO ATIENZA
Leave a Comment
Department Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Lito Atienza (right) calls on mining operators to ensure that host communities get their fair share from their mining operations during the opening of the Mining Philippines 2009 Conference and Exhibition at the Sofitel Plaza Hotel in Pasay City. Listening on are (seated, from left): Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CMP) chairman Artemio F. Disini, Vice President Noli de Castro and CMP president Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez. The 2-day mining conference, which has for its theme, “Strengthening Competitiveness,” was attended by the Philippine mining industry’s senior officials, industry financiers and investors, government policy makers, regulatory authorities, decision makers and top executives from the government and the mining industry.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources presents its position on the Intex Mining Project in Mindoro regarding the following issues raised in earlier paid newspaper advertisements and subject also of an ongoing sit-in demonstration in front of the DENR premises:
THE RECOGNITION OF THE LGU’s MORATORIUM ON MINING.
The DENR recognizes the moratorium, but this is a separate issue. Based on Presidential Decree 1586, Establishing the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System, the DENR, through the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), is mandated to assess the environmental impacts of an environmentally-critical project and prescribe mitigating measures to address these pre-defined impacts, regardless of any existing moratorium.
The DENR stresses: a) The ECC is only a planning tool and not a permit. It is supposed to guide the LGUs and other concerned agencies in the issuance of their permits; and b) The LGU is responsible for upholding the local moratorium.
THE FAILURE OF INTEX RESOURCES TO CONDUCT GENUINE CONSULTATIONS IN THE AFFECTED COMMUNITIES.
DENR officials claim that they conducted public hearings in the municipalities of Pola and Mamburao, while Intex Resources conducted consultations and public scoping sessions in the areas of Calapan, San Teodoro, Victoria, Pola, and Sablayan, where the affected communities are located. These consultations/hearings were conducted to generate environmental concerns of the community, not social acceptability.
THE STEADFAST REFUSAL OF LGUs TO ALLOW THE ENTRY OF INTEX RESOURCES IN THEIR AREAS.
The DENR respects the position of the LGUs on this matter. The DENR, however, must continue to act according to its mandate.
THE SUSTAINED REJECTION AND WITHHOLDING OF CONSENT OF THE LEGITIMATE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE TO BE AFFECTED BY THE MINING OPERATION.
The immediate indigenous peoples such as the Mangyan tribes belonging to the Samahang Apo Diya Kakuyayan Inc. (SADAKI) and the Kanluran Mindoro at Kabilugan ng Mangyan Inc. (KMI), who occupy the actual concession area in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro and Victoria, Oriental Mindoro, claim they gave their consent to the mining project. They also attest that a series of consultations were undertaken by the mining company.
THE MINING AREA IS LOCATED WITHIN A WATERSHED .According to those who recommended the issuance of the ECC, the mining project is located 25 kilometers from FB Harrison Bird Sanctuary and 36 kilometers from Mt. Iglit-Baco National Park, and thus outside the proclaimed protected/watershed areas.
THE FAILURE TO CONSIDER EIA REVIEW COMMITTEE VOTE.
The DENR internal review team took careful note of the recommendations of the EIA Review Committee and incorporated these into the contents of the final ECC. However, per Administrative Order 42, the EIA Review Committee acts only on a recommendatory basis. The final decision to issue an ECC lies with the DENR based on a technical and factual evaluation and not – and has never been done – based on votes by Review Committee members.
THE ISSUANCE OF A SUSPENSION FOR 90 DAYS, INSTEAD OF A CANCELLATION.
The ECC given to Intex Resources was suspended for 90 days to allow the DENR to conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations that the mining project is located within a watershed area and that inadequate local consultations were made. The purpose of the suspension, therefore, is to comply with the requirements of due process by giving parties time to submit evidence to support the allegations.
If indeed there was malice in the issuance of the ECC, the DENR will not only cancel the ECC, but will also hold liable accountable employees who may have violated the process.
In fact, the bishops and governors present during our recent dialogue have been invited to join the investigating panel.
The revocation of the ECC should only come after a thorough investigation is done and documents presented are studied impartially by the investigation panel.
Without due process, justice cannot be served. The possible prosecution of malicious and erring DENR employees and the eventual cancellation of the ECC have to be supported by facts, not by mere allegations. Otherwise, our decision may not even be sustained in a court of law.
lito atienza
DENR SECRETARY LITO ATIENZA: WHAT MAKES THE NEXT PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT
Leave a Comment
Vodpod videos no longer available.
DENR SECRETARY LITO ATIENZA ISSUES NOTICES OF VIOLATION TO 107 ESTABLISHMENTS, INCLUDING GOVERNMENT OFFICES IN NCR
Leave a Comment
That’s a tall order from Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza (in floral shirt, upper photo) as he directed the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) to look into the illegal dumping of wastes at the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System and to file appropriate charges against concerned local government units. Atienza, who led volunteers from various sectors to clean up the Marilao River as a culminating activity for the Philippine Water Week and World Water Day celebrations (lower photo), was irked to see tons of garbage floating at the Prenza Dam in Marilao, Bulacan. With Secretary Atienza in the photo are (from left to right) Forest Management Bureau Director Marlo Mendoza, Bulacan 4th District Rep. Reylina Nicolas, Mrs. Evelina Atienza, DENR Assistant Secretary David Suarez and Marilao Mayor Epifanio Guillermo.
A total of 107 various establishments, including local and national government agencies, in the National Capital Region (NCR) were issued notices of violations (NOVs) for discharging untreated wastewater without valid permits and for failing to put up wastewater treatment facilities.
The local governments of Las Piñas, Mandaluyong, Valenzuela, Malabon, San Juan, Parañaque, Navotas, Makati, Caloocan, Quezon, Taguig and Manila, and 31 national government agencies, including the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), have all been served NOVs by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for failing to put up sewage treatment facilities within their respective offices.
We want these government agencies to know how serious we are in improving the state of Manila Bay and protecting public health. The Supreme Court has already emphasized the extreme necessity for all concerned agencies to immediately act and discharge their respective official duties.
No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself has directed all government offices in Metro Manila to install or put-up sewage treatment facilities in compliance to the continuing mandamus of the Supreme Court for the immediate rehabilitation of Manila Bay.
Aside from government offices, 66 NOVs were likewise served to commercial establishments and industries that were generally cited either for discharging wastewater that exceeds the DENR standards for effluent or for operating without permit.
For decades, the degradation of Manila Bay continues to take place as it has become the septic tank of industrial and domestic wastes from the National Capital Region and other neighboring regions.
That is why we are demanding compliance from these LGUs, to prevent industrial wastes, sewage water and human waste from flowing into the river, connecting creeks to Manila Bay.
In its 36-page decision in December last year, the SC has directed the DENR and 10 other agencies of the government to fulfill their mandates on a continuing mandamus to clean up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay, and restore its water quality.
I have directed the Environmental Management Bureau to institute measures to assist the polluting companies to upgrade their environmental performance through technical conferences. However, companies who continue to defy DENR orders will be dealt with accordingly.
WATER FIRMS FINED FOR VIOLATION OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT – SECRETARY LITO ATIENZA
Leave a Comment
Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza (left) presents the country’s priority water-related programs to address the impending inadequacy of surface water supply by 2015 at the Southeast Asian Business Form, a part of the recently concluded International Water Week and Water Leaders Summit in Singapore. Atienza encouraged the business leaders and water professionals (right) who attended the event to invest in the country’s water sector. Among the viable areas for investments that Atienza identified include desalination, sewerage and wastewater treatment and other water-related projects.
MWSS, MANILA WATER, MAYNILAD FINED P 29.4 MILLION BY DENR – NOVEMBER 5, 2009 BUSINESS MIRROR
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has slapped the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and its two water concessionaires, Maynilad and Manila Water, with a total P29.4-million fine for violation of Republic Act (RA) 9275, or the Clean Water Act.
Environment Secretary Lito Atienza said the fines were imposed for their failure to install and maintain wastewater-treatment facilities (WTFs) within five years after the Clean Water Act took effect on May 2004 as required by law.
“The fine of P29.4 million covers only the period May 7, 2009, to September 30, 2009. If they failed to comply, a fine of P200,000 per day will continue to be imposed on them until such time that they have fully complied with the provision of Section 8 of RA 9274,” Atienza, who is also chairman of the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB), said.
Section 8 of RA 9275 provides that “within five years following the effectivity of this Act, the agency vested to provide water supply and sewerage facilities or concessionaires or both in Metro Manila and highly urbanized cities as defined under Republic Act 7160, in coordination with local governments, shall be required to connect the existing sewerage line found in all subdivisions, condominiums, commercial centers, hotels, sports and recreational facilities, hospitals, market places, public buildings, industrials complex and other similar establishments including households to available sewerage system.”
The water pollution charges filed against MWSS, Maynilad and Manila Water stemmed from the complaints of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) regional offices in Metro Manila, Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) and Central Luzon.
The DENR offices in the said regions scored the failure of the three entities to provide, install, operate and maintain WTFs for sewerage system, which has resulted in the degradation of water quality and beneficial use of Meycauayan and Marilao rivers, which drain to the Obando River, and other water bodies that ultimately drain into the Manila Bay, Atienza said.
He cited the continuing writ of mandamus imposed by the Supreme Court on the DENR and other government agencies to protect, rehabilitate and restore the bay’s water quality as the reason for imposing the fines, even to the MWSS, the government’s water regulatory body.
“The Supreme Court has clearly emphasized two things in its decision: One, that the environmental degradation of Manila Bay is ongoing, and therefore there is extreme necessity for all concerned government agencies to immediately act and discharge their respective official duties and obligations; and second, the need to set timetables for the performance and completion of tasks because time is of the essence in the cleanup of Manila Bay,” Atienza explained.
He said the Supreme Court order is clear in its directive to the DENR to fully implement its Operational Plan for the Manila Bay Coastal Strategy, while the MWSS was ordered to provide, install, operate and maintain the necessary adequate WTFs in Metro Manila, Rizal and Cavite, where needed, at the earliest possible time.
But in his complaint affidavit filed with the PAB last year, EMB-Metro Manila Director Roberto Sheen pointed out that the failure of the three water agencies to complete the installation of the WTFs resulted in the discharge of untreated wastewater from industries and households in the region directly into the Manila Bay, thereby adversely affecting the implementation of the Manila Bay Operational Plan.
Chemical analyses conducted by EMB-Central Luzon on water samples from the Meycauayan, Marilao and Obando rivers showed that their water quality exceeded the DENR standard for dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand.
DENR SECRETARY LITO ATIENZA WANTS A REPORT ON ERRING BORACAY RESORTS
Leave a Comment
Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza (right) presents samples of concrete hollow blocks made of crashed glasses and produced at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Brgy. Balabag, Boracay Island. Atienza likewise commended Glenn Sacapano (left), former barangay captain now the Balabag MRF manager in making the facility financially and ecologically rewarding. Aside from the hollow blocks, the Balabag MRF also produces plastic tiles from sando bags using a plastic oven melter invented by the Department of Science and Technology, green charcoal using a charcoal briquetting machine and undertakes vermi composting using African Night Crawler. Prior to visiting Boracay, Atienza joined President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in visiting the town of Libacao, Aklan where he briefed the President and the local government officials of Aklan on the status of solid waste management in the province.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to come up with a list of violators of environmental laws in Boracay Island within the first week of November. This will facilitate the filing of appropriate administrative and criminal charges against these violators.
I have also directed the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) and the regional office of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Iloilo City to check on allegations that a resort has been constructed on top of coral reefs.
In a memorandum issued last October 26, I ordered Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Director Julian Amador to identify all establishments that continuously failed to comply with environmental laws, including existing rules and regulations being implemented by the DENR in the 1,006-hectare resort island.
The directive gives the Environmental Management Bureau two weeks to submit a comprehensive report with full details of violations. This is to ensure that no further environmental damage occurs within and around the island of Boracay while various issues concerning its protection and conservation are being assessed.
The order comes on the heels of the approval of a master plan for Boracay’s development that will identify areas and their designated uses and degree of development activities according to the areas’ identified carrying capacity.
In August 2007, I directed the DENR-Region 6 for a temporary suspension in the processing and issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). At the same time, I also called on the local government to impose a moratorium on all construction activities in the island. The construction moratorium was intended to restore sanity and order in the island, which can be described as a national jewel every Filipino should be proud of.
Last October 16, Amador issued a memorandum to the DENR regional office reiterating that said moratorium on ECC processing and issuance in Boracay Island is still in effect “unless and until the Secretary lifts the moratorium,” adding that “the basis for lifting of such shall be the approved Boracay Master Plan.”
The master plan seeks to strike a balance between the sustainable growth of the island’s tourism industry while preserving its environment and natural resources. The master plan likewise evaluates the impacts of tourism-related activities and future development schemes in the island, as well.
Among the environmental threats in Boracay which the DENR has identified include the construction of resorts and tourism facilities along easement areas, illegal reclamation of wetlands, clearing of forested areas for building construction, garbage and air and water pollution.
In May 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued Proclamation No. 1064 which classifies 63% of Boracay’s 1,006-hectare land area into alienable and disposable lands, with the remaining percentage as forestland.
Tags: Boracay, DENR, EMB, environment, Lito Atienza, manila, mayor, Mayor Lito Atienza, Natural Resources, Philippine Politics, politics, Secretary, Secretary Lito Atienza
SEC LITO ATIENZA TO HONOR FREED FOREST GUARDS, EXPRESSES GRATITUDE TO BISHOP PUEBLOS
Leave a Comment
The freed forest guards recently kidnapped in Butuan City will be given honors for the courage they have demonstrated during their five-day ordeal with their abductors.
I want to express my gratitude to Butuan City Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, Police Chief Supt. Lino Calingasan and DENR-CARAGA Regional Executive Director Edilberto Buiser for taking all the necessary steps leading to the unconditional release of the remaining six hostages.
For the gallant DENR employees, I understand the hardship you have been through and the anxieties and untold miseries that the members of your families have experienced during those period of crisis.
The six newly-freed DENR employees were identified as for. Gabriel Arlan (team leader), Rito Espenido, Teofredo E. Pujadas, Rudy A. Clar, Edgardo Abogatal and Ildefonso Jayme. They were released Sunday at around 4:30 pm and were met by Buiser at Brgy. Kolambogan, Sibagat, Agusan del Sur, about 25 kilometers away from Butuan City. Two were released earlier, namely, Emiliano Gatillo, Jr. and Efren Sabuero.
The abductors of their colleagues in Caraga region were neither kidnappers nor armed rebels but were simply tribal folks who want to bring their gripes to the national leadership in ways they knew best.
A Manobo group, led by a certain Andot Behing, did not demand for any ransom money, but certain conditions which they believed would serve the interests of their community over their ancestral claims.
Sila ay mga katutubo na may mga hinaing. Kaya ang ating ginawa ay nakinig at pinakinggan kung ano yon. Hindi rin po mga NPA (New People’s Army) yon, dahil hindi po naman sila kumaakapit sa ideology ng anuman (neither are they NPA since they are not idealogues embracing the agenda of the communist insurgency).
Wala pong kinalaman yon sa anumang alingasngas o ilegal kung hindi sa pagtatrabaho ng ating mga tauhan ay sila’y nasangkot dito at nabiktima ng hindi pagkakaintindihan.
I am recognizing the importance of DENR field workers as those who give substance to the DENR’s mandate. Those working within the comforts of an office building are far fortunate than those in the field like the DENR forest guards.
Lito Atienza's Blog 