By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD CITY—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau has issued a notice of violation to a palm oil plantation in Candoni, Negros Occidental.
This was stated in a letter from the bureau addressed to environmental groups opposing the project. The letter, furnished to the Daily Guardian on Wednesday, detailed the notice.
EMB Regional Director Atty. Ramar Pascua, in a letter to the Group of Environmental Socialists Inc. (GOES) and Green Alert Negros Inc. (GAN), said an investigation was conducted on September 11, 2024, at the Hacienda Asia Plantation Inc. (HAPI) project in Barangay Gatuslao and Barangay Agboy, Candoni.
The findings showed the project was implemented without an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), Pascua stated.
On October 28, 2024, a notice of violation was issued against HAPI for breaching Section 4 of Presidential Decree 1586, or the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System.
The decree stipulates, “No person, partnership or corporation shall undertake or operate any such declared environmentally critical projects or areas without first securing an ECC issued by the President or his duly authorized representative.”
Regarding the groups’ call to revoke the Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) granted to HAPI, Pascua said this matter was forwarded to the Office of the Regional Executive Director of the DENR, as it falls outside the EMB’s jurisdiction.
Earlier, environmental groups in southern Negros called on the government to stop the continued clearing of the Candoni mountains, allegedly for the HAPI palm oil plantation.
