Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has revoked the Environment Compliance Certificate (ECC) of property developer, Century Communities Corporation for its housing project at the La Mesa Watershed.
The department said, it is dangerous to build houses on top of the watershed which has a total area of 2,700 hectares.
“If you put up any housing subdivision there inside the forest, that would go down to the reservoir and the water companies are not equipped to handle the household wastes,” DENR Secretary Gina Lopez explained.
Thus, DENR recommended that it would be better for the interest of the public to just make the watershed as a source of water supply instead of making its 58 hectares a housing project of the MWSS.
Lopez said, she’s not worried even if the chairman of Century Communities Corp. is Jose Antonio, the country’s special envoy to the United States.
“DENR is committed to social justice and the filter in which all decisions are made are based on the common good. If you gonna ask me to make a decision based on political scenarios like that, I’m not going to do that,” Sec. Lopez said.
Likewise, DENR has cancelled the ECCs of 6 companies for their failure to submit requirements and violation of laws on environment protection.
READ: DENR suspends operation of 6 big mining companies
Twelve companies have been ordered to submit show cause for failure to comply with the conditions under the Environment Compliance Certificate.
“If you have a pathetic environmental track record that your track record shows negligence, not following the law and it’s documented and there’s evidence, you can in fact, by law, be declared ineligible to mine,”
Meanwhile, DENR also plans not to renew fish permits at Laguna Lake that will expire this year.
DENR said the clean up drive to turn Laguna Lake into an ecotourism area, will start next year.
The department will also focus on the welfare of small fishermen to ensure that they will not lose their source of livelihood. — Bryan de Paz | UNTV News & Rescue
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