Treñas: DENR has final say on mangrove areas
City Mayor Jerry Treñas said the task on the issuance of permit to clear portions of Iloilo River of mangroves in order to pave way for the dredging works lie on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Treñas’s reaction was in relation to reports on the destruction made by the International Builders Corporation (IBC) on the mangroves lined along the creek of Sitio Sooc, Bolilao, Mandurriao.
The contractor uprooted four species of mangroves to include pagatpat, bungalon, bakhawon and 38 nipa plants along the waterways of Sitio Sooc in its clearing operation. The number of uprooted mangroves was based on the initial report of the environment department after their ocular inspection on the affected mangrove area.
The deliberate mangrove destruction in Sitio Sooc became a subject of the complaint of Bolilao Empowerment Neighborhood Association (BOENA) headed by Jess Siva. The association forwarded their complaint to the DENR.
In response, the DENR requested the DPWH to reconsider the association’s complaint. The environment department is currently conducting a probe on the destruction considering that there are laws that protects and conserves the mangroves.
They have yet to tackle on issues whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was made before the project started. Ironically, it is the environment department which conducts the EIA and drafts the EIS.
BOENA’s complaint prompted Department of Public Works and Highways regional director Rolando Asis in handing out an order to the contractor to stop the works pending the evaluation of the environment department on the presence of mangroves in areas covered by the dredging works.
In Bolilao, the excavation of the creek will be implemented in different sites, namely, Sitio Dike 1, Sitio Dike 2 and Sitio Sooc.
The project engineers were also asked to coordinate with the DENR on the steps and measure they could exercise in saving the mangroves from destruction without further delaying the project.
The complaint of the association along with the presence of informal settlers along the waterways and creeks, inclement weather condition contributed on the delay on the implementation of the dredging works.
The contractor could still continue the dredging works in areas where there are no informal settlers, said Treñas.