Bacolod City – Pending the issuance of an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, a Cease and Desist Order (CDO) has been issued by the Provincial Environment Management Office for the Hacienda Asia Plantations Incorporated (HAPI) to suspend ongoing land clearing operations, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson disclosed recently.
The HAPI palm oil project in Barangays Gatuslao, Agboy and Pauayan in Candoni, Negros Occidental, came under fire from environmentalist groups and civil society organizations, for not having securing an ECC, but starting land clearing operations.
The CDO temporarily halts HAPI land clearing operations, pending resolution of issues concerning their ECC.
I hope they will comply until we can resolve this issue, Lacson said.
He has also written a letter to Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla, urging the latter to take immediate action on a palm oil plantation’s continued operations without an ECC.
Lacson, in his letter to Lotilla, said HAPI failed to acquire the required ECC, “despite acknowledging its necessity during meetings with government officials.”
He also pointed to the plantations’ environmental harm, citing its earth-moving activities that “pose potential harm to the environment, prompting calls for immediate action to protect biodiversity and indigenous land.”
ACTION WELCOMED
The Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment (NICE), a local civil society group closely monitoring developments at the 6,000-hectare palm oil plantation in Candoni, Negros Occidental, in a statement welcomed the decisive action of Lacson following an online petition launched by the group on June 5, World Environment Day.
“We welcome Governor Bong’s response to the ongoing social and environmental catastrophe in the southern part of our province. His request for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary, Popo Lotilla, to intervene and take immediate action is a step in the right direction,” said Joshua Villalobos, secretary-general of NICE.
“The action of the Governor shows that positive change is possible when those in power listen to the voice of the people,” Villalobos added, citing the hundreds of signatures gathered in their petition.
BISHOP CALLS ON DENR TO ACT
In support of the people’s clamor, chair of NICE Wisdom Council and San Carlos Bishop Gerardo “Gerry” Alminaza called on the DENR to immediately respond to the Governor’s appeal and the people’s demands.
“We urge Secretary Lotilla and the DENR to come to Negros and listen to the voices on the ground—especially those who are most impacted by this plantation. Every day that HAPI’s operations continue, irreversible damage is being done to our forests, watersheds, wildlife, and communities,” Alminaza said.
COMMITMENT UNDER SCRUTINY
During a dialogue facilitated at the DENR Negros Occidental office on June 11, HAPI committed to cease all earth-moving activities pending further investigation and dialogue, the statement added.
“We acknowledge HAPI’s renewed commitment to halt their operations. However, we receive this with caution and vigilance,” Villalobos remarked. “This is not the first time HAPI has made this promise. In a previous dialogue, the same commitment was made but not honored. We cannot afford another betrayal.”
HAPI has been served several Notices of Violations from the Environment Management Bureau for operating despite not having an environmental clearance and from the Provincial Environment Management Office for quarrying without a quarry and mining permit from the provincial government. As of 11 June, they have not yet settled all their fines.
Aside from the environmental impacts, the NICE statement also reiterates that according to the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), a great portion of the land is covered by an existing ancestral domain claim from indigenous peoples, which makes the plantation illegal to begin with.
The IPRA Law provides that a Free, Prior, Informed Consent (FPIC) must be secured from the IP community or a Certificate of Non-Overlap (CNO) to prove that the land is not covered by an ancestral domain claim. Both documents have not been satisfied by HAPI.
Without a Certification of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the NCIP, the DENR cannot legally issue an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for any project impacting ancestral domains, as required under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA, R.A. 8371) and the Philippine EIS System.
“As long as the palm oil plantation continues, the destruction of our natural ecosystems also continues. We cannot wait any longer,” Alminaza declared. “The DENR must act now—not just for the forests, but for the people of Negros,” and penalties for their violations.
CALL FOR TRANSPARENCY AND MONITORING
In their statement, NICE also called on the DENR to assert its legal mandate to conduct environmental monitoring within the plantation area, stating that no private entity—including HAPI or its parent company, the Consunji Group—should obstruct government oversight.
“The DENR does not need anyone’s permission to monitor what is happening on government land. This is a government-sanctioned project on public property, and it is both the duty and the right of the DENR to ensure that laws are being followed and that our environment is protected,” Villalobos stressed.
The law provides that the “The PENRO and the CENRO shall be directly responsible in the implementation of the program,” Section 22.3 of the DAO 99-53, the law governing IFMA projects. (Gilbert Bayoran via tvds)