• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Pending the issuance of environmental compliance certificate (ECC) by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, a cease and desist order (CDO) has been issued by the Provincial Environment Management Office to Hacienda Asia Plantations Inc. (HAPI) to suspend its land clearing operations in Candoni, Negros Occidental.
This was announced by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday as the palm oil project in Barangay Gatuslao, Agboy and Pauayan in Candoni came under fire from environmentalist groups and civil society organizations for not securing an ECC.
“I hope they will comply, until we can resolve this issue,” Lacson said.
The governor also wrote a letter to Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Raphael Lotilla, urging him to take immediate action on the palm oil plantation’s continued operations without an ECC.
The Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment (NICE), a local civil society organization, reported that the project involves converting approximately 6,652 hectares of forest and grassland in three Candoni barangays into a palm oil plantation.
“Notably, around 4,000 hectares of this land are inhabited by indigenous peoples,” NICE said.
Lacson, in his letter to Lotilla, said HAPI failed to obtain the required ECC “despite acknowledging its necessity during meetings with government officials.”
He also pointed to the plantations’ environmental harm, citing its earth-moving activities that “pose potential harm to the environment, prompting calls for immediate action to protect biodiversity and indigenous land.” | GB
