With the impending demolition of all fishpens and fish cages inside Laguna de Bay, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is issuing its final appeal to operators of fish pens and cages within the Laguna de Bay to conduct self-demolition before it begins this month a massive operation to clear the lake of illegal structures.

National Anti-Environmental Crime Task Force (NAECTF) head Arturo Valdez said the DENR is still giving the operators the chance to save their valuable assets like pen and cage enclosure materials.

“Once we begin the operation, all assets affected by our dismantling activities will be confiscated in favor of the government,” said Valdez, who is in charge of the dismantling operation, along with the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) and concerned local government units.

The impending dismantling operation is in line with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to dismantle big fish pens and cages in Laguna Lake to allow small fishermen to gain access to traditional fishing grounds.

"That's the presidential instruction after all, and the DENR is dead set on implementing it unless of course a new directive from no less than President Duterte is given," Valdez said, advising those seeking to stop the planned dismantling to direct their appeal not to the DENR, but to the President instead.”

According to the DENR official, some operators already voluntarily dismantled their facilities as early as last month, allowing them to keep their assets, especially the fish stock that they still were able to sell in the market.

Valdez said the DENR and the LLDA are now mapping out a "phase-by-phase approach" for the clearing operation.

He added that all aquaculture facilities in the lake area will be covered by the dismantling operation since the permits given to operators already expired last December 31 and will no longer be renewed by the DENR.

"We have imposed a total moratorium on the renewal of permits (starting January 1, 2017). This means the pens and cages can be dismantled anytime," Valdez said.

“You know, the dismantling of fish pens (and cages) is not simple. There are posts there (and nets) that's why it's better for the owners to dismantle it themselves. You take care of your materials, those are expensive after all," Valdez said.

Valdez pointed out that the only way to save the lake and give access to small fishermen is to dismantle all illegal structures within the country's largest lake.

He said these structures also obstruct the natural flow of water, which is necessary to cleanse the lake of pollutants from households and industries, and even from chemical components of fish feeds.

Valdez said the demolition of illegal structures within the Laguna Lake is part of an overall plan to save the water body from further ecological destruction.

Another key component of the Laguna Lake rehabilitation plan is the stopping of pollution discharges from industrial and domestic sources, including sedimentation and siltation from degraded watershed surrounding the lake.

The rehabilitation plan also includes reconfiguration of sewage systems of the lakeside communities and reforestation of surrounding mountains. ###

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Published: 14 January 2017

Environment Secretary Gina Lopez on Wednesday expressed her willingness to facilitate soonest the issuance of a permit that would allow Petron Corp. to transfer the ash stockpile released from its refinery to a cement plant also located within the Petron Bataan Refinery (PBR) complex in Limay town.

Residents have been complaining of the volume of ash coming from the sprawling refinery complex that caused some of them to fall ill, prompting the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), a line bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, to issue notices of violation against PBR and SMC Consolidated Power Corp. (SMCCPC).

Both Petron and SMCCPC are subsidiaries of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), one of the country's most diversified and biggest conglomerates.

"I will ask [SMC president] Ramon Ang to submit an application to transport the ash, so that we can process it immediately,” Lopez told residents during a dialogue.

Ang reportedly said that Petron would gladly move the deposits of what he said was lime powder, not ash, to a plant within the PBR for use as raw material in manufacturing cement. He said this would address the problem of dust complained by residents.

Lopez said she would exert all effort to ensure that the PBR and SMCCPC "will comply with environmental laws and not cause people to suffer."

“I am sure that Mr. Ang would not do something that would jeopardize a billion-dollar operation. I commit and make sure that you (the community) would be okay,” Lopez assured Limay residents.

She said the DENR would also coordinate with the Department of Health regarding the medical conditions reported by residents.

The EMB, in an order dated January 9, directed SMCCPC to explain why the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for its Limay facility should not be revoked or cancelled due to the ash spill. The company has until January 13 to submit its reply.

Also on January 9, the EMB issued a separate order to PBR to "stop from dumping newly-generated bottom ash" in the area while the ash spill incident is being investigated.

Meanwhile, EMB Acting Director Jacqueline Caancan said the bureau would have to make sure the ash being released from the PBR is not toxic.

“If found non-hazardous, the materials could be dumped in a sanitary landfill or allowed to be disposed of through other equally safe means," Caancan said.

"Otherwise, the company would have to secure a permit to transport from the EMB," she added. ###

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Published: 12 January 2017

If the underwater theme park would cause the destruction of corals, right away, I will say no way. The fishermen need corals. The corals are the home for the fish, and some of our corals have shells and sponges that can cure cancer. I will never allow our biodiversity to be killed for money that some people want to make.

The Philippines is a country of seven thousand islands, which has the highest endemism per unit area in the entire world, while Palawan is the number one island destination in the planet. It has rich biodiversity and lots of ecotourism potentials that should be primarily tapped by the Filipino people for the Filipino people.

In any case, whatever decision that the DENR will make shall be filtered and anchored on social justice, which means that the marine resources of Palawan should benefit the greater majority. ###

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Published: 12 January 2017

The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has denied allegations that there were irregularities in the procurement of 48 units of air quality monitoring stations (AQMS) installed across Metro Manila and other parts of the country.

In-charge of EMB’s Office of the Director and its Concurrent Assistant Director Jacqueline Caancan said the purchase of such equipment was aboveboard and free of corruption, noting that the agency followed every step of the procurement and bidding rules.

"The procurement of said equipment went through the standard bidding procedures conducted by our Bids and Awards Committee and acquired through competitive public bidding,” Caancan said.

She added: "The procurement is in accordance with Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act."

Caancan was reacting to newspaper reports claiming that the procurement of the equipment, supposedly worth P1 billion, was riddled with anomalies and irregularities.

The reports refer to the EMB's purchase of AQMS from 2011 to 2015, composed of both Open Path Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS), and Particulate Matter Stations (PM 10/ PM 2.5).

Caancan clarified that all these equipment, purchased for EMB Central and Regional Offices, cost only around P290 million, and not P1 billion.

Meanwhile, Engr. Jean Rosete, chief of EMB Air Quality Management Section, belied claims that the technology used for the AQMS acquired by the EMB was already obsolete and not intended for use in Philippine setting.

"The Open Path DOAS procured by the EMB falls under the equivalent methods certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)”, Rosete explained.

“The Open Path DOAS is one of the advanced technologies that can be used for the country for ambient monitoring. The technology offers spatial representation of a geographical area and with probability of capturing measurements of local sources of emissions. The aforecited AQMS and equipment are also five times lower in cost in terms of maintenance than the other technologies,” she added. ###

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Published: 09 January 2017

The regional office of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Central Luzon has ordered SMC Consolidated Power Corp. (SMCCPC) to stop any activity inside its coal-fired power plant in Limay, Bataan in the wake of an ash spill that has reportedly caused several residents to fall ill.

It also directed the nearby Petron Bataan Refinery (PBR) to "stop from dumping newly-generated bottom ash" in the area while the ash spill incident is being investigated.

The two directives, both dated Jan. 6, 2017, were issued by Regional Director Lormelyn Claudio of EMB Region 3, which is based in San Fernando City, Pampanga.

EMB, a line bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, is responsible for the implementation of various environmental laws, rules and regulations, including Presidential Decree No. 1586 or the law establishing the Environmental Impact Assessment System that requires an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to ensure that a development project will not cause adverse environmental impacts.

In a Notice of Alleged Violation issued to SMCCPC, the EMB wanted the power firm to explain why the ECC for its Limay facility should not be revoked or cancelled due to the ash spill.

"Notice is hereby served in connection with the dumping of bottom ash at [SMCCPC's] facility in Lima, Bataan. This allegedly caused unmitigated spread of ash which affected the health conditions of the residents in the host community," the notice read.

The EMB is giving SMCCPC a period of 7 days from receipt of the notice to explain why it should not be penalized under P.D. 1586, and why its ECC should not be revoked or suspended.

"Similarly, you are hereby ordered to stop from further undertaking any activity while the matters are being investigated," the EMB told SMCCPC.

The bureau also ordered the company to attend the technical conference scheduled on Jan. 9 at the EMB Region 3 office in Pampanga.

"Failure to attend will qualify you to be considered in default and the case shall be resolved based in evidence on record," the EMB warned SMCCPC.

Meanwhile, the EMB said the latest order against PBR was based on the notice of violation it issued against the oil facility last Dec. 28 when the ash spill in Limay was first reported.

The EMB said it was inclined to issue a new order against PBR "considering the most recent reports and information on the alleged skin diseases caused by the dumping of bottom ash at [SMCCPC's] facility."

SMCCPC and Petron Corp. are both subsidiaries of San Miguel Corp., one of the country's most diversified and biggest conglomerates.

Petron Corp. operates the PBR, which is the largest integrated crude oil refinery and petrochemicals complex in the country. ###

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Published: 07 January 2017