DENR, kinansela ang ECC ng Coron Reclamation

Project dahil sa kakulangan ng permits at operasyon

Ayon kay DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones, kinansela ang ECC para sa Coron Bay Development Project
(CBDP) dahil sa kakulangan ng mga permit at hindi pag-operate ng 5 taon.

Batay aniya sa kanilang regulasyon, kailangang ikansela ang ECC kapag hindi nag-operate ng higit 5 taon
upang ma-update ito.

Batay kay Leones, inilabas ng DENR ang ECC para sa proyekto noong 2007 at 2009.

Base sa Coron Bay Development page, ang reclamation ay proyekto ng provincial at local governments.

Sinabi ni Leones na dapat managot ang mga developer kung makagagawa sila ng mga paglabag dahil
maaaring masira ang ilang coastal areas dahil sa kanilang mga proyekto.

Bukod sa posibleng administrative cases mula sa DENR, maaring ding harapin ng developers ang mga
reklamong inihain ng mga residenteng humingi ng kabayaran para sa pinsala.
 Sagip Coron urged to create
task force to rehabilitate Coron
Limited land

Atty. Christian Cojamco, Provincial Information Officer in an ANC interview, said that the project started
as early as 2007 before the current provincial government administration led by Governor Jose Ch.
Alvarez assumed in 2013. In 2007, only three hectares were applied for an Environmental Compliance
Certificate (ECC) from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), and two years later or in 2009, an
ECC was applied for another 48 hectares. In 2012, the project was suspended by the provincial
government headed by then Governor Baham Mitra due to a lack of funds.

He explained that Coron’s land area is very limited for commercial and residential expansion, and the
provincial government does not want to destroy the forestland. He explained that if the commercial and
residential areas will expand and encroach on the forest, it will result in the destruction of the
timberland areas in Coron.

“It’s better to reclaim land in the bay of Coron,” he said.

He explained that proper consultations were conducted before the current provincial administration
started the project sometime in 2018.

In an effort to avoid expansion in timberland areas surrounding the town of Coron, expanding through
reclamation to accommodate the development has been considered as an option.

“In every development, there is a sacrifice,” Atty. Cojamco explained.

He said that the reclamation project will support Coron’s tourism industry and local economy and that
commercial spaces will be put up in the reclamation area.
 Coron LGU fails to protect.
environment vs reclamation project
Local government units failed to protect the tourist town of Coron, Palawan during the height of the
pandemic against a now-halted 51-hectare reclamation project, according to a Coron-based
environmental group.

In an interview on Tuesday (May 24), Bob Magallanes, a volunteer of civic movement group Sagip Coron
said that the project was able to continue despite a cease-and-desist order and several violations.

“Talagang sirang-sira ang mga bundok. Nakaka-shock kasi napakaganda talaga ng bayan ng Coron. Nung
tumuloy kami sa reclamation, nakita namin doon tinatambak ang mga lupa. During pandemic, walang
taong nakakalabas kaya sinamantala nila yung oras na yon para magtambak sila,” Magallanes said.

(The mountains were destroyed. We were shocked because the town of Coron is really beautiful. When
we went to the reclamation site, we saw the soil being dumped. No one was able to go out during the
height of the pandemic so they took advantage of that time to dump more soil.)

“Sumulat kami sa LGU para magkaroon ng public dialogue para malaman anong nangyayari. Sad to say
wala silang sagot up to March 9 nagbigay kami ng deadline,” he added.

(We wrote to the LGU to have a public dialogue so we can clarify what was happening. Sad to say, they
didn’t respond to us until March 9 so we gave a deadline.)Julito Sarge Sarmiento, legal counsel of Sagip
Coron, said that they went straight to President Rodrigo Duterte because the LGU was mum on what
was happening. The president then confirmed that what was happening was illegal.

In an order dated May 12, Joe Amie M. Salino, regional director of the Environmental Management
Bureau (EMB) in MIMAROPA, directed the provincial government of Palawan – the project proponent –
to immediately suspend all activities in the reclamation project.

“The Provincial Government of Palawan being the registered Proponent of the project and a continuing
corporate entity regardless of the elected local executive has the burden of ensuring that the conditions
as stated in the [environmental compliance certificate] ECC are strictly complied with including the
submission of reportorial requirements,” read the order.
 Coron Bay Reclamation
Ang Coron Bay Reclamation Project ay proyekto ng Pamahalaang PANLALAWIGAN at Lokal na
Pamahalaan ng Coron. Ito ay karugtong ng naunang sampung (10) na ektarya kung saan nakatayo ang
palengke, Gateway Hotel at Lualhati Park, na matagal nang ginagamit at napapakinabangan na ng mga
mamamayan ng Coron.

Ang kasalukuyang tinatambakan ay kasama at parte ng Coron Bay Reclamation Project na may malinaw
na Permit mula sa DENR, PMRB, PRA, PCSD.

Bago pa man maaprubahan ang mga papel sa mga nabanggit na ahensiya, kumpleto and mga
endorsements at permits na masusing dumaan sa Barangay Council, ECAN Zoning,, Environmental
Committee, Sangguniaang Bayan, ECAN Zoning, Sangguniang Panlalawigan bago naaprubahan sa mga
National na ahensiyang nabanggit.
 DENR admits lapses in monitoring Coron reclamation project
An official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) admitted on Friday that
there were lapses in monitoring the reclamation project in Coron, Palawan.
At the Laging Handa briefing, DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said the officials of the Provincial
Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) and Community Environment and Natural Resources
Office (CENRO) should have been more diligent in monitoring the progress in the project area.

The DENR earlier revoked the environmental compliance certificate(ECC) of a 48-hectare reclamation
project in Coron, Palawan due to a lack of permits.

We also saw that there was a a few lapses on the part of the CENRO or PENRO in monitoring the
progress of their project there. For us, once we issue the ECC, the proponent should comply with it.

Although it is hard to admit, we failed to fully monitor the project. What seems to have happened,
during the pandemic, that's when they rushed work on the project, while we were busy addressing
COVID-19. That's when they rushed things, while we couldn't keep an eye on the project. When next we
checked, they had reclaimed a large area in Coron.

Leones said the DENR issued the ECC for the project in 2007 and 2009.

Based on our investigation, when they started the reclamation, it seemed okay, things were going
slowly... But when the investigation team went there, we were all surprised because the reclamation
work had rushed ahead.

The total area that had been reclaimed was 40 hectares. We were shocked. During the pandemic, we
think they took advantage of the situation and reclaimed a huge area. Based on the report, they
reclaimed at least 40 hectares.

The DENR official said they were assessing the damage done to the coastal area and the ecosystem.

He also vowed that the developers would face charges if they violated the law.

We guarantee that, under the NIPAS Law and the Clean Water Act, we will see if they have things to
answer for... if they violated provisions of the law. They will face not only administrative sanctions but
also criminal charges if we see that they need to be taken to court.
 DENR di binantayan ang pagkasira ng mga bundok ng Coron: grupo
MAYNILA—Walang naging pagbabantay ang Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
sa ginawang reclamation sa Coron, Palawan, ayon sa isang grupo.

Ayon kay Julito Sarge Sarmiento, legal counsel ng Sagip Coron, lumapit ang kanilang grupo kay
Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte kaugnay sa walang pakundangan na pagsira sa Coron, at sinabi umano ni
Duterte na ilegal at criminal offense ang isinagawang pagtatambak.

Ayon naman kay Bob Magallanes, isang volunteer ng Sagip Coron, wala silang ideya sa nangyaring
reclamation o paggiba sa mga bundok sa paligid ng Coron kaya nakakagulat na lang ang pagkasira ng
mga ito.

Maraming maaapektuhan sa ginawang quarrying, hindi lang ang mga may-ari ng mga negosyo sa tabing
dagat, kung 'di ang ang mga maliliit at mahihirap na manggagawa ng Coron, ani Marion Raagas, ang
convenor ng Sagip Coron.

Saad ni Dr. Filipina Sotto, isang marine biologist, kakaunti na ang mga isdang lumalangoy sa paligid ng
impacted areas at may mga coral reef na ring natambakan dahil sa reclamation.

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, Philippines — After years of battling against a “destructive
development project,” a civic movement in Coron, Palawan, scored a win when the Philippine
Reclamation Authority (PRA) ordered the forfeiture in favor of the national government of an unfinished
reclamation project in the town. Lawyer Mark Arthur Catabona, acting board secretary of the PRA, in
Resolution No. 5541-2022 issued on June 16, ordered the forfeiture of about 22 hectares of reclaimed
land in Coron, citing the unauthorized reclamation undertaken by the Palawan provincial government
and its joint venture partners.

The decision came after the PRA found out that the project continued without area clearance from the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), as directed by President Duterte on March
22, after a meeting with Sagip Coron Palawan (SCP) conveners.

“In view of the total forfeiture of the said reclaimed land, the PRA management is also hereby
grantedwith authority to apply and comply with the DENR requirements for presidential proclamation
declaring the land alienable and disposable and no longer needed for public use, issuance of a special
patent, and eventual titling thereof,” the PRA resolution said.

PRA General Manager and CEO Janilo Rubiato said the Coron case could be the first total forfeiture
granted by the agency in favor of the national government, meaning forfeiture orders previously issued
in other reclamation sites had partial coverage that allowed proponents to use certain parts of the
reclaimed area.
‘Good fight’

Bob Magallanes, one of the conveners of Sagip Coron and a native of the island town, welcomed the
development after years of “fighting the good fight,” which, he said, would not have been possible
without the persistent call to action from locals.

“I am thankful to Sagip Coron members who showed concern for the nation and future generations and
to all residents of Coron who sacrificed their time and effort for this cause,” Magallanes said in a
message to the Inquirer on Tuesday.

Marion Raagas, also among Sagip Coron’s conveners, said the forfeiture of the illegally reclaimed land
was a “big victory for mother nature and the Coron people.”

Raagas said the PRA; the tourism, public works, interior and local government, and environment
departments; the Armed Forces of the Philippines; and all allied government agencies and the
community would work together and come up with a comprehensive master plan for Coron.

“We are also hoping that the incoming administration will be supportive [of] our efforts, hopes and
dreams for ordinary people who are affected by illegal reclamation and quarrying that they may review
the ‘Executive Order Coron,’ which SCP’s legal counsel drafted, so we can execute the whole-of-nation
approach [and the] much needed reforms for both our country’s development and responsible
reclamation and quarrying will be followed and enforced to the letter,” Raagas said.

Incumbent provincial government officials had yet to issue a statement on Tuesday but had initially
distanced themselves from the controversy, citing that the project was continued from a previous plan
under the administration of former Gov. Joel Reyes 15 years ago.

The Coron Bay Development Project was started in 2007 by Reyes, who applied for the environmental
compliance certificate (ECC) with the DENR for a 3-ha area. In 2009, it got another ECC for 48 ha.

Between 2012 and 2018, the project was halted reportedly due to lack of funds but was reinstated by
outgoing Gov. Jose Alvarez, who entered into a joint venture with developers for the construction of
hotels, docking stations, and other tourism-related facilities at Coron town center.

Alvarez won as representative of Palawan’s second congressional district during the May 9 elections. His
vice governor, Dennis Socrates, will succeed him as governor of the province.