The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) headquarters in Quezon City on July 18, 2022. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — Some congressmen have called out the Department of Environment and Natural Resources over the presence of illegal structures in the protected Marikina watershed.

During the House Committee on Appropriations’ deliberation on the DENR’s proposed 2025 budget on Wednesday, ACT Teachers Party List Representative France Castro said these structures include resorts and rest houses of “powerful” individuals. These, she said, contributed to the thinning forest cover in the upper Marikina watershed, which the lawmaker partly blames for the floods experienced by the city and some parts of Metro Manila.

“May reports na may large private land claims dito sa upper Marikina watershed, that they are being used for resorts and rest houses of generals and other powerful people. Land use change is a major cause of deforestation of these protected areas,” Castro said.

“’Yung Marikina watershed is a protected area, pero may mga large private land claims. So ‘yung pag increase ng flood and disaster risk in downstreams like in Quezon City, Pasig and Antipolo, ito ang nagiging problema,” she added.

“Hanggang ngayon walang ginagawa ang DENR… nandyan pa rin ‘yang mga ‘yan… still, existing pa rin ‘yang mga ganyang problema. Hindi niyo pa rin pinapaalis ang mga illegitimate claimants,” Castro noted.

“Pwede pala ‘yun, protected areas tapos ang daming and claims? ‘Yung mga claims lang mayroon nang structure, bawal dapat ‘yan,” Palawan 2nd District Representative Jose Alvarez also said.

Based on DENR’s mapping, 510 commercial structures were identified in the upper Marikina watershed.

DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga assured lawmakers that the agency has been taking actions against the illegal structures and that it is working closely with the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

DENR CALABARZON’s Regional Executive Director Nilo Tamoria also told the panel that the agency has issued 540 show cause orders for the different structures and establishments inside the upper Marikina river basin protected landscape, and that some of these have been elevated before the court for eviction proceedings.

“Out of these 540 show cause order issued, 47 graduated into cease and desist order. 10 filed in court. We have already won some cases…  ‘Yung ejection, dapat court,”  Tamoria said.

“Parallel to that is the review ng overlapping of the previous proclamations… It was only in 2011 that the upper Marikina river basin protected landscape was proclaimed as an initial component of the NIPAS system and only in 2018 legislated under the NIPAS system. ‘Yan ang ine-evaluate namin at nire-review,” he added.

But Castro was unsatisfied by the DENR’s action and called “insignificant” the number of cases filed in court compared to the number of illegal structures.

Committee Vice Chairperson and Marikina City 2nd District Representative Stella Quimbo also pointed out that court cases take years to be resolved, while her constituents have to face the risk of flooding every time a strong typhoon hits the country.

“Ang ibig sabihin ba noon, hihintayin natin matapos ang mga kaso, bago natin paalisin ang illegal structures na ito? Ibig sabihin, dependent tayo on the courts to make a ruling. Kung ‘yan ay abutin ng 25 years, 30 years para matapos ang kaso, kasi syempre aabot pa ng Korte Suprema ‘yan… talagang ganoon katagal magiging unprotected ang areas na ito?” Quimbo asked.

“Wala taong enforcement powers, police powers of any sort na masasandalan? Wala tayong magagawa ngayon din considering na ito ay protected area at kitang kita naman natin na talagang urgent ang action na kailangan. Nakita naman natin ang malawakang pagbaha na nangyari,” she added.

“Whether we have enforcement power, in fact that is one of the issues, we brought before this house, that the DENR can actually enable and organize an enforcement unit, because we don’t have that particular capacity and authority,” Loyzaga replied.

“Wala kayong magagawa? Inaasahan natin ang mga korte. Meanwhile hanggang ngayon, nandyan ang illegal structures,” Quimbo asked again.

“Thank you for that interpretation Ma’am, but that is not what I said. I am here to say we are taking alternative approaches and precisely we have organized and conceptualized Project Transform to take an alternative approach to moving out and to reforesting these areas,” the DENR chief replied.

“Ang bilis bilis natin walisin kapag mahihirap, kapag squatter na tinatawag ninyo… pero ito, malinaw na talagang illegal silang nandyan. Bakit double standard ‘yung approach nila dyan?” Castro pressed the DENR.

The DENR explained that under existing laws, they are allowed to stop the operation in illegal facilities, but they do not have the authority to demolish.

“Only the court can order the demolition of these illegal structures even if it is within the forest land or protected area. ‘Yun ang legal challenge namin… Kahit illegal settlers sila, the  government will still determine the relocation sites for these informal settlers before we can relocate them,” DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Lawmakers also asked the DENR how much budget would be sufficient to address waste and flooding. Records show that Metro Manila generates around 61,000 tons of garbage daily. Of this amount, 15,000 tons are plastic.

The DENR said flooding cannot be addressed by solving only waste management, citing the problem of informal settlers along rivers and creeks.

“Bakit tayo nababarahan ang drainage, ng basura? Once and for all, manghingi na kayo ng tamang pera. Para ‘pag nabigay namin, hindi lang kayo ire-reprimand, talagang tanggal sa trabaho. Tama ba ‘yun?” Alvarez said.

“While the funding is available to clean up rivers, creeks and systems sa mga garbage, isang problema rin ang informal settlers na nandoon. Kailangan natin to really address the source of the problem. We need to identify sites for informal settlers. Kasi most of the source of garbage in rivers and esteros are the informal settlers residing along the river systems,” Leones responded.

“The DENR can only act end of pipe. The beginning of pipe starts with the local government units and the way they govern solid waste management… Solid waste management cannot be the mandate of a single agency. It needs to be inter-agency cooperation,” Loyzaga stressed.

MANILA BAY RECLAMATION

Aerial photos shows ongoing reclamation project at Manila Bay in Pasay City taken on February 28, 2023. Randy Tabano, ABS-CBN News/File

Kabataan Party List Representative Raoul Manuel, meanwhile, questioned the two ongoing reclamation projects in Manila Bay, even when the DENR has yet to complete its cumulative impact assessment of several reclamation projects.

Loyzaga explained that the two projects were found complied with DENR’s requirements. She noted that the main proponent of these projects is the local government of Pasay City.

“‘Di ba naka-suspend ‘yung mga reclamation projects at gumagawa ng cumulative impact assessment. Pero mayroon pa ring dalawa out of the several reclamation projects na pinayagan na mag-proceed. Bakit hinayaan ‘yung dalawang ‘yun kahit na ongoing ang impact assessment?” Manuel asked.

“They were part of the priority review in terms of their compliance to the ECC requirements and the area clearance, because they were in fact already ongoing, mobilized and ongoing na po. So, when we reviewed their requirements and their submissions, we submitted to the Office of the President that as far as these two were concerned, they had actually complied with the ECC and area clearance requirements,” Loyzaga responded.

“In the case of one of these projects, they were requested to modify their design to actually create a channel, so that water flow can in fact be facilitated… This they complied with and this is ongoing,” she added.

The DENR expects to complete its cumulative impact assessment by September.

“The interim findings of the cumulative impact assessment are three-fold in general. The first is that any change in the physical configuration of the embayment of the Manila Bay area will result in various differences in the way circulation, as well as biology, in the bay will also be affected… The interim findings have shown that pollutants will not be able to circulate efficiently given the different scenarios. Thirdly, there is fishing activity still in the bay. There are areas where there is still catch. We have an established rate for the catch of the fishermen in the area. There will be a social impact on their particular activity, as well as ecological impact there,” Loyzaga said.

Under the 2025 National Expenditure Program, the proposed 2025 budget for the DENR is at P26.02 billion.