Binaklas ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ang natuklasang drainage pipe nanakalagay sa beachfront zone ng El Nido.

Ang naturang pipe na naglalabas ng marumi at mabahong tubig na diretso sa Bacuit Bay ay pag-aari ng Outpost Beach Hostel na matatagpuan sa Barangay Corong-Corong. Ang nasabing establisiyamento ay nakatanggap na rin ng notice of violation mula sa Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) ng DENR dahil sa direktang pagtatapon nito ng wastewater sa tubig-dagat.

Agad na ipinatanggal ni DENR Mimaropa Regional Executive Director Henry Adornadoangnatuklasang sewage pipeline na may sukat na anim na pulgadang lapad at may habang anim na metro na nakakonekta sa nabanggit na hostel.

Nilagyan na lamang ng buhangin ang pinaghukayan ng tubo habang ang dulo na pinutol ay binuksan upang makakuha ang EMB ng sampling at analysis.

Ayon kay Adornado, ang ginawang pagtatago ng hostel ng sewage line ay isang malinaw na pagwawalang-bahala sa kapaligiran at isa rin itong paglabag sa Water Code of the Philippines sa ilalim ng Presidential Decree 1067 at Republic Act 9275 o mas kilala sa tawag na Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.

“We have no choice but to prevent them from further degrading nature. They are putting the lives of tourists and residents in danger as they continue to pollute Bacuit Bay,” sabi pa nito.

Inamin naman ng isa sa may-ari ng Outpost Beach Hostel na nakilalang si Paul Sepulveda na kanila ang naturang tubo.

Sa pamamagitan ng paggamit ng radar ay natuklasan ng Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) ng DENR ang mga nakatagong waste pipelines kung saan ay sinimulan ang operasyon noong Marso 18 sa paligid ng El Nido.

“You cannot hide them (pipes) forever. We will eventually uncover them so we advise you to remove your illegal sewage lines and comply with the laws for your own good,” sabi pa ni MGB Regional Director Roland de Jesus kasabay ng pagbibigay nito ng payo sa mga establisiyamento sumunod sa batas upang hindi matulad sa Outpost Beach Hostel na nahinto ang operasyon.

Samantala, pinaalalahanan naman ni EMB Regional Director Michael Drake Matias ang mga residente at mga negosyante na ang Bacuit Bay ay isang Water Quality Management Area kaya’t kinakailangan ang kanilang kooperasyon upang mamantine ang kalidad ng tubig nito.

“We shall be conducting regular water sampling and analysis not only to Outpost Beach Hostel but also to other establishments to ensure that they do not discharge untreated wastewater into Bacuit Bay,” sabi pa ni Matias.

Bukod sa nabanggit na hostel ay patuloy naming nagsasagawa ng imbestigasyon ang EMB upang matukoy kung may iba pang nagtatapon sa dagat ng kanilang wastewater.

Simula nang umpisahan ng DENR noong isang taon ang pagsasaayos ng Palawan na itinuturing na beach at diving destinations ay nagging agresibo narin ang central at Mimaropa offices sa pagpapatupad ng batas upang mapanatiling malinis ang tubig sa Bacuit Bay. ###

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Published: 21 April 2019

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has launched a unique lecture series on the environment with former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno giving an inaugural lecture on environmental justice.

The first-ever Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Distinguished Lecture Series was held at Seda Vertis North Hotel in Quezon City last April 15.

No less than Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu welcomed over 100 participants from different regional offices and bureaus under the DENR.

In his lecture, Puno underscored the need for the Philippines to “constitutionalize” the right to a healthy environment by including it in the Bill of Rights.

“The most effective way to protect the right to a safe and healthy environment is to constitutionalize the right in our Bill of Rights so that the right will be demandable,” he said.

The country’s former top magistrate said it is also high time for the country to “rethink” its approach to the environment, as he spoke about the challenge of addressing environmental crime and justice.

“The Philippines, as a developing country, suffers more in the impact of environmental degradation, yet contributes less to its causes. The relationship between man and nature must be anchored on man’s human rights,” Puno pointed out.

He added: “We should rethink our philosophy in environment using human rights as the mandate. In fact, this philosophy should be cast in the Constitution, which cannot be tampered without the consent of the sovereign people.”

For his part, Cimatu said the DENR continues to reorganize its field offices—from regional, provincial to community levels—to make them more effective in delivering service to the public.

Cimatu recently issued an administrative order delineating the roles and responsibilities of its field offices following the centralization of management functions at the regional level.

He said the rationalized structure of DENR field offices has resulted in “a more coordinated and responsive regional directors.”

At the same time, Cimatu cited the DENR’s enforcement and legal teams for playing crucial roles in attaining effective enforcement of environmental laws, especially in the rehabilitation of Boracay and Manila Bay.

“The effective enforcement of environmental laws has been evident as the teams have made considerable impact on curbing environmental degradation in Boracay and, now, in Manila Bay,” Cimatu said.

“The directors and staff also enabled an effective enforcement of environmental laws in curbing illegal logging, illegal mining, poaching and illegal trade of wildlife, and environmental pollution.”

The lecture series, which aims to stimulate critical thinking within the DENR to support the Manila Bay and Boracay rehabilitation projects, is organized by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs.

Puno expressed hope the lecture series will be used as a platform by “scholars who are possessed with longitudinal vision of our environmental problems.” ###

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Published: 17 April 2019

The Philippines has once again demonstrated its strong and steadfast commitment to fighting illegal wildlife trade following two consecutive law enforcement operations that resulted in massive seizures of live wild animals and arrest of wildlife criminals.

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu made this remark after the Philippine Operations Group on Ivory and Illegal Wildlife Trade, or Task Force POGI, seized over P50-million worth of live exotic animals reportedly smuggled from Indonesia in an operation conducted on April 8 in Mati City, Davao Oriental.

Earlier this month, the Bureau of Customs also intercepted more than 700 live venomous tarantulas, with combined estimated value of P310,000, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The interception also led to the arrest of two suspects, one of them is the consignee of the shipment from Poland.

Cimatu said the government has not changed its stance on wildlife protection and will not ease its crackdown on illegal trafficking and trade of wildlife species.

“The Philippines is taking illegal wildlife trade seriously,” the former military chief said. “We want to send a clear signal that the country does not tolerate illegal wildlife crime, trafficking and trade that is driving endangered species to the brink of extinction.”

With a value of $23 billion annually, illegal wildlife trade is the fourth most lucrative global crime after illegal drugs, human trafficking and illicit arms trade.

The Philippines has been labeled as a consumer, source and transit point for illegal trade of wildlife and their by-products, threatening endemic species populations, economic development and biodiversity.

Cimatu said the government will not waver in its commitment to end illegal wildlife trade. “We are not going to stop. The fight against illegal wildlife trade is worth fighting,” he said.

In June 2013, the Philippines—through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)—destroyed at least five tons of smuggled elephant tusks using a road roller, making the Philippines the first country in Asia to conduct physical destruction of massive ivory stockpile in support of global efforts to stamp out illegal wildlife trade.

Last April 8, Task Force POGI—a composite team of wildlife enforcers from various agencies including the Biodiversity Management Bureau, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police—conducted a raid in Barangay Dahican in Mati City where they confiscated 450 species of bird, mammals and reptiles, including the endangered black palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) and echidna, both of which are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix I and II respectively.

CITES is an international agreement between governments and aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival, and was conceived to regulate the trade of wildlife animals and plants across borders and safeguard certain species from over-exploitation.

Appendix II states a list of species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival, while the Appendix I contains a list of species threatened with extinction.

The confiscated exotic animals were reportedly in the area for safekeeping in a week before they are transported to and sold in different areas in the country. The task force arrested two persons who served as caretakers of the wild animals.

Both the suspects in the tarantula shipment and Indonesian wildlife have been charged for violating Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources and Protection Act, which defines and penalizes illegal wildlife trade.

Under the law, unlawful trading, possession and transport of wildlife species are punishable by a jail term of up to two years and a fine of not more than P200,000. ###

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Published: 12 April 2019

Muli na namang ipinakita ng Pilipinas na hindi nila tatantanan ang paglaban sa illegal wildlife trade hanggang sa tuluyang maubos ang mga ito matapos ang dalawang matagumpay na operasyon na nagresulta sa pagkakasagip sa mga buhay na wild animals at pagkaaresto sa may kagagawan ng krimen.

Ayon kay Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, Abril 8 nang masagip ng mga tauhan ng Philippine Operations Group on Ivory and Illegal Wildlife Trade o Task Force POGI ang mga buhay na exotic animals sa Mati City, Davao Oriental na aabot sa halagang P50-million na nagmula pa sa Indonesia.

Matatandaan din na kamakailan nang masakote ng Bureau of Customs ang 700 buhay na tarantula na may halagang P310,000 sa Ninoy Aquino International Airport na naging dahilan ng pagkakaresto sa dalawang katao kabilang na ang consignee ng shipment na nagmula sa Poland.

Sinabi pa ni Cimatu, hindi magbabago ang paninindigan ng gobyerno upang mabigyan ng proteksiyon ang wildlife at mahinto ang illegal trafficking at maaresto ang nagbebenta ng wildlife species.

“The Philippines is taking illegal wildlife trade seriously,” sabi pa ng dating military chief. “We want to send a clear signal that the country does not tolerate illegal wildlife crime, trafficking and trade that is driving endangered species to the brink of extinction.”

Bukod sa illegal drugs, human trafficking at arms trade, ang illegal wildlife trade ay pang-apat sa pinakikinabangang krimen sa buong mundo na kumikita ng $23 billion kada taon.

Naging kilala rin ang Pilipinas bilang “consumer”, “source” at “transit point” ng illegal trade ng wildlife at mga produktong nagmumula dito na nagiging dahilan upang manganib ang populasyon ng mga species at maapektuhan ang ating economic development at biodiversity.

Ayon pa kay Cimatu, hindi titigil ang gobyerno sa kampanya nito hanggang mawakasan ang illegal wildlife trade. “ We are not going to stop. The fight against illegal wildlife trade is worth fighting,” anang kalihim.

Noong Hunyo 2013 ay pinangunahan ng DENR ang pagsira sa di bababa sa limang toneladang smuggled elephant tusks gamit ang “road roller”. Dahil dito, ang Pilipinas ang naging unang bansa sa Asya na sumira sa napakaraming ivory stockpile bilang suporta sa pandaigdigang pagsugpo sa illegal wildlife trade.

Nitong nakalipas na Abril 8 nang magsagawa ng operasyon ang Task Force POGI na kinabibilangan ng mga tauhan ng Biodiversity Management Bureau, National Bureau of Investigation at Philippine National Police, sa Barangay Dahican, Mati City kung saan ay nakakumpiska ng 450 species ng ibon, mammals at reptiles kabilang na dito ang endangered na black palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) at echidna na kapwa nakalista sa talaan ng Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix I at II.

Ang CITES ay isang international agreement sa pagitan ng mga gobyerno na layuning matiyak na hindi manganganib ang mga wild animals at plants sa international trade at mai-regulate at hindi maabuso ang mga species na ito.

Nakasaad sa Appendix II ang listahan ng mga species na hindi pa nanganganib ngunit kailangan kontrolin ang pagbebenta upang maiwasan ang kanilang pagkaubos na hindi ayon sa kanilang survival habang nakasaad naman sa Appendix I ang mga species na nanganganib na maubos.

Napag-alaman na ang mga nakumpiskang exotic animals ay ilang linggo nang nakalagay sa naturang lugar para sa safekeeping bago ibiyahe ang mga ito at ibenta sa iba’t-ibang panig ng bansa. Naaresto naman ang dalawang katao na nagsisilbing caretaker ng mga wild animals.

Ang mga naarestong suspek sa tarantula shipment at Indonesian wildlife ay sinampahan na kasong paglabag sa Republic Act 9147 o mas kilala sa tawag na Wildlife Resources and Protection Act na nagbibigay ng parusa sa illegal wildlife trade.

Sa ilalim ng batas, ang pagbebenta, pag-iingat at pagbibyahe ng wildlife species ay maaaring maparusahan ng dalawang taong pagkakabilanggo at pagmumulta ng hindi hihigit sa P200,000. ###

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Published: 12 April 2019

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has classified 35 more rivers, bays and lakes for their best uses, bringing to 824 the total number of duly classified water bodies nationwide since the enactment of Republic Act 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.

The additional list of classified water bodies was contained in a memorandum circular issued by DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, pursuant to Administrative Order 2016-08 or the Water Quality Guidelines and General Effluent Standards of 2016.

RA 9275 mandates the DENR to categorize water bodies—whether freshwater or coastal—according to their quality, area, purpose and vulnerability to pollution.

Fresh surface waters, which include lakes, rivers and reservoirs, are classified as “AA,” “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D.” Coastal and marine waters, on the other hand, are classified as “SA,” “SB,” “SC,” and “SD.”

Cimatu said the classification helps water managers and planners to develop proper water quality management programs and provide the standards to protect aquatic life and human use of their specific water bodies.

“With these classifications, we are able to determine the programs and activities to implement so that we can optimize the use of our water resources and make them beneficial to our welfare and health,” the DENR chief said.

Under the circular, nine rivers in Region 9 or Zamboanga Peninsula were classified as Class “B” and “C”. These are Batu, Binuangan, Buayan, Catituan, Lambuyong, Logpond, Lutiman, Suloan and Sinusayan rivers. Class “B” refers to recreational water intended for primary contact recreation such as bathing and swimming, while Class “C” pertains to fishery water for propagation and growth of fish and other aquatic resources.

Four rivers in Region 4B or MIMAROPA were classified either as Class “C” or “SC,” which pertains to fishery water for propagation and growth of fish and other aquatic resources and intended for commercial and sustenance fishing. Classified as “SC” waters are Sabang River in Sabayan, Occidental Mindoro; and Bangon, Gabawan and Bongoy rivers in Romblon.

Portions of Guimaras and Iloilo straits in Region 6 were declared as Class “SB” or fishery water suitable for commercial propagation of shellfish and intended as spawning areas for milkfish and similar species. Bicol region’s Masbate Bay and Mobo Bay, both in the province of Masbate, were classified as Class “SC” and “SB,” respectively.

Caraga region’s Mamkas River in Agusan del Norte was categorized as Class “A” or one intended as water supply source requiring conventional treatments like coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection. Also classified as Class “A” were Muleta and Aloran rivers in Region 10 and Alibunan River in Iloilo (Region 6).

The Camgat-Surong and Dinauyan rivers in Region 2 were classified as Class “C” and “B”, respectively. Both the Balaong and Madlum rivers in Region 3 were categorized as Class “B” or recreational water intended for primary contact recreation.

Portions of Muleta and Aloran rivers in Region 10 were classified either as “A”, “B”, and “C”.Batangas’ Lobo and Pamintahan-Tubig ng Bayan-Sala rivers were classified as Class “B” and “C”, respectively. Cebu’s Bojo River, the lone water body classified in Region 7, was categorized as “Class B.”

In Region 11, the Mayo River and Mayo Bay were classified as “B” and “SB,” respectively.Three rivers in Region 12—Glan, Malapatan and SapuMasla—were classified as “B”, “C”, and “C,” respectively. ###

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Published: 09 April 2019