• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Negros Occidental provincial government has sought the issuance of cease and desist order (CDO) from the Environmental Management Bureau-Western Visayas (EMB-6) against Hacienda Asia Plantations, Inc. (HAPI), following reports of land development activities conducted without the required environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
In a letter addressed to EMB-6 director Ramar Niel Pascua dated June 9, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the multi-partite monitoring team (MMT) inspection ordered HAPI not to proceed with any activities until the appropriate ECC is secured.
However, subsequent reports and documentation, along with circulating videos, indicate that heavy equipment such as bulldozers and backhoes were used on site, prompting concerns of continued operations in violation of environmental regulations.
The MMT is composed of representatives from the DENR-EMB Pollution and Environmental Management Unit, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, Community Environment and Natural Resources Office, the Local Government Unit of Candoni, and the Provincial Environment Management Office as well as barangay officials, civil society organizations, and indigenous peoples group.
Lacson, who also sought the intervention of Environment Secretary Raphael Lotilla, emphasized the importance of environmental compliance in safeguarding natural resources, noting that the issuance of a CDO would ensure that environmental policies are strictly observed.
He called on the EMB-6 to act swiftly on the matter, “upholding the principles of environmental protection and sustainable development that guide our actions.”
Issuing a CDO would be a crucial step in compelling HAPI to comply with the law and prevent further environmental harm, Lacson added.
“We are confident that under your leadership, EMB Region 6 will ensure that all necessary measures are taken to hold HAPI accountable for its actions,” he further said.
The Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment (NICE), a 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 said that the plantations’ environmental harm, citing its earth-moving activities, “pose potential harm to the environment, prompting calls for immediate action to protect biodiversity and indigenous land.” | GB
