Candoni LGU urges HAPI management to comply with lacking DENR permit

The Local Government Unit of Candoni has urged the management of Hacienda Asia Plantation Incorporated (HAPI) to comply with their lacking permit before the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Town mayor Ray Ruiz said on Monday, October 21, that he already reached out to HAPI’s management, urging them to obtain the necessary permit from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the DENR.

Ruiz said that he was assured by the Consunji-led company that they will comply with the DENR.

He also dispelled allegations that the local government unit (LGU) failed to take action on the issue, particularly in securing the necessary permits before approving the project.

Ruiz said that in 2022, the local government had attempted to propose a co-management agreement with the DENR. This would have allowed the municipal government to intervene and protect its rich biodiversity and watershed, where portions of which fall within the project area.

However, the DENR rejected the proposal, citing the lack of applicable regulations that would allow a government body to enter into a co-management agreement over an IFMA area.

He said, following the rejection of the proposal, the LGU cannot directly intervene with the operations of the HAPI as it is solely under the watch of the DENR, unless displacement and loss of livelihood are reported.

“If there were violations determined by the appropriate government agencies, we will assist in serving the notices, like what we recently did with the notice of violation issued against them by the Provincial Environment and Management Office (PEMO),” Ruiz added.

This issue is on top of the growing fears of residents in the villages of Gatuslao, Agboy, and Payawan, who faced displacement and loss of livelihood due to the project.

The three environmental groups – Group of Environmental Socialists Incorporated (GOES), Green Alert Network-Negros Island Region Incorporated (GAN), and the Gatuslao Agroforestry Banana Sugarcane and Coconut Farmers Association (GABASCFA) – plan to submit a letter to the DENR, urging them to issue a cease and desist order (CDO) against the project for proceeding without fulfilling the necessary documentation requirements.

It can be recalled that the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) confirmed in a letter dated October 1, that it did not issue an ECC for HAPI’s operations in the southern Negros Occidental town.

“Please be informed that this office has not yet received an application for the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to the said project. We will be conducting a Technical Conference to address the issues and concerns of the project,” portion of the statement read.* (Reymund Titong)