DENR adopts stricter policy on ECC

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is adopting stricter measures on issuing environmental compliance certificates (ECCs).

"From now on, the DENR will make sure that specific measures and conditions are first met by project proponents before ECCs are issued to them," Environment Secretary Gina Lopez said in a statement on Tuesday.

An ECC is a document issued by the DENR secretary or the regional executive director certifying that a proposed project will not cause a significant negative impact on the environment.

The certificate contains specific measures and conditions that must be met by the proponent before and during the operation of a project. In some cases, conditions are listed to be performed during the project's closing phase to lessen the potential impact on the environmental.

Lopez earlier said the previous process in giving out an ECC was "not correct."

It was a long-standing practice that the certificate is issued even if certain conditions are yet to be met by project proponents.

"If any ECC is cancelled now, it has to be withdrawn in the legal parameters at that time. But for the future, we are saying that if any ECC is given, it should not be given unless all the conditions are first met," Lopez emphasized.

Last month, Lopez announced the results of an ECC review by the DENR.

The department cancelled a six ECCs, issued show cause orders against other development projects and denied one ECC.

The decision to cancel, deny or grant an ECC is "based on social justice," Lopez noted.

"Social justice, in the context of the DENR, means that the use of the land benefits the greater majority, benefits the common good. But, when the environment is destroyed, it is the poor people around the area who suffer,” she said. — Ted Cordero/VS, GMA News