Cynthia Villar berates DENR exec over Cavite reclamation project

Senator Cynthia Villar on Tuesday cursed at an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) over a reclamation project in Cavite that she said she had opposed due to its potential to cause flooding.

Presiding over a hearing on the proposed P23-billion budget of the DENR for 2023, Villar became visibly irate when Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) director William Cuñado failed to enumerate areas in Cavite that will be covered by the project.

“T—ina 'to. Ano 'yung coastal road? I-enumerate mo anong bayan sa Cavite (Sonafab*tch. What is this coastal road? Enumerate these towns in Cavite),” she said.

Villar said she had been told by local officials in Bacoor, Cavite, that they would not proceed with the reclamation project.

Cuñado continued giving details on the project, saying it covers 846 hectares. Villar then asked what are the areas involved, but Cuñado was not able to answer.

“Ako huwag niyong gagawin sa akin 'yan. T—ina niyo. Dumating ka dito galing ka sa Cebu, ginulo mo kaming lahat. Ilista mo sa akin ano ‘yang coastal road na 'yan, hindi namin alam 'yan,” she said.

(Don’t do that to me, you sonafab*tch. You came here from Cebu and you just caused trouble. Enumerate to me the areas in the coastal road, we don’t know that.)

She also accused DENR of denying her access to a hearing where the reclamation project was discussed.

According to Villar, former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson advised her in 2015 not to allow the project because it may cause massive flooding. She added that there are four rivers in the area that would be affected.

Villar said she was passionate about the matter because she spent a decade cleaning the river that will be affected by the reclamation project.

“It took me 10 years to clean my river so that there [would] be no flooding, tapos sasarhan niyo daanan ng river ko, ano ba yan. It took me 10 years to do that from 2013 to 2021, 30 kilometers of river,” she said.

(It took me 10 years to clean my river so that there [would] be no flooding. Then you will only close the passageway? It took me 10 years to clean that from 2013 to 2021, 30 kilometers of river.)

The senator is a former congresswoman from Las Piñas City, which borders Bacoor.

ECC

According to Villar, the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for the project has already been canceled but it has been revived.

“That is a protected area, legislated protected area, and this is entitled to a buffer zone. Bakit mo ire-reclaim ang buffer zone [Why would you reclaim  you a buffer zone]?” she asked.

DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said the DENR only issues the ECC but the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) and Office of the President will decide if the project will continue.

“Basically, ang ginagawa lang po natin ay ECC (Basically, we are just issuing the ECC),” he said.

Corruption?

According to Villar, corruption might be the reason behind the push to the project.

“I talked to President [Noynoy] Aquino during his time, I talked to President [Rodrigo] Duterte during his time. Hindi alam ng mga presidente 'yan. Di ba sinabi President [Duterte] ayoko niyang reclamation kasi it’s source of corruption. So yun ang reason, corruption,” she said.

(Presidents do not know about this. Remember, President Duterte said that he does not want reclamation because it's a source of corruption. So that’s the reason, corruption.)

For her part, DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo Loyzaga vowed that the new DENR administration will review reclamation policies in light of these concerns.

“Under this present administration, we will be looking carefully at the reclamation policy as a whole and we realized there is a need for very strong science because of the implication,” she said. —KBK/VBL, GMA News