DENR’s EMB should not be allowed to expedite issuance of ECCs — Villar

Senator Cynthia Villar on Tuesday said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) should not be covered by the bill aimed to expedite the issuance of government permits and licenses.

During the Senate hearing of the Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation for Senate Bill No. 1844, Villar said the EMB is currently in charge of the issuance of environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for reclamation projects.

The EMB is a line agency of the DENR responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, development, utilization, and conservation of the country's natural resources.

“I don’t think the reclamation project should be included in facilitating the ease of doing business,” she said.

“If this bill will be passed into law without exception eh di lalong mag-iissue ng ECC ‘yung EMB. Issue na nga nang issue ECC without consultation or without study, eh gagamitin niya pa itong batas na ito,” she added.

Chairing the Senate committee on environment, Villar said the reclamation of Manila Bay in Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Bacoor will destroy the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park, a protected area which houses 35,000 hectares of mangrove and serves as a habitat for various bird species.

Its destruction would imperil the livelihood of 300,000 fisherfolks and cause flooding as high as eight meters in the residential areas surrounding Manila Bay, according to Villar.

“Yung aming city is the home of the middle class families in Metro Manila. Binili nila ang bahay nila, hinulugan nila ng 25 years... tapos mag-iisue ka ng ECC pababahain mo kami ng eight meters? Eh di nawalang lahat ang kabuhayan ng aking mga kababayan,” she added.

Villar also lamented that the issuance of ECCs for reclamation projects despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s position on the matter.

“The President has always said that there will be no reclamation of Manila Bay under his watch. He has said it many times. I just want to ask why this EMB is issuing ECC in the reclamation of Manila Bay continuously? It’s not following the President,” Villar said.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, one of the authors of the bill allowing the President to streamline the process of issuing permits and suspending requirements for such, took note of Villar’s manifestation.

“The ease of doing business doesn’t mean that you have to give a yes approval to all applications. It only means you have to answer, either a yes or a no. Either you give the permit or not within a particular time,” Zubiri said.

“If it is environmentally destructive then you should take a stand that this permit should not be given,” he added.

Zubiri said he will be sponsoring the bill to the plenary on Monday. -- BAP, GMA News