LAND developer Raul Canoy promised the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 that he would submit the legal documents that authorized him to destroy mangroves in Barangay Paknaan in Mandaue City next week.
If it hadn’t been for a people’s organization, which had filed a complaint against Canoy, the agency wouldn’t have known about the wanton destruction of the environment.
Dr. Alice Lustica of DENR 7 said a mangrove area is very important because “it is a spawning ground of fishes and a shelter belt of coastal communities during a typhoon.”
Meanwhile, Section 4 of Republic Act (RA) 7161 explicitly bans the cutting of all species of mangroves, while Section 43 of Presidential Decree (PD) 705, or the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines, also bars clear cutting operation in all mangrove swamps set aside for coast protection purposes.
In December 2016, the Mandaue City Council deliberated on proposed ordinance 75-016, or the Mangrove Protection Ordinance of Mandaue City, which would penalize anyone caught cutting and damaging mangroves as well as removing them to pave the way for fishponds.
The head of the committee on agriculture said that this was in line with PD 705 and RA 8550, or the Fisheries Code of 1998.
With all these laws protecting mangroves then, what legal basis does Canoy have?
Viernov Grefalde, DENR 7 enforcement officer, said they will decide the appropriate sanction against the developer for working without appropriate permits from the agency and Mandaue City.
An aerial photo taken by SunStar Cebu photographer Allan Cuizon shows the affected area facing Cansaga Bay. What used to be a mangrove area is now a swath of land.
As always, there is an exception to the rule.
Earlier this month, DENR 7 Executive Director Gilbert Gonzales said the government’s policy against the cutting of mangroves is not absolute.
This was his reaction to questions raised by an environmentalist on the earth-balling of mangroves in Dumanjug to make way for the widening of a road in the southwestern town.
Gonzales said the “eminent domain” of the government over lands is constitutional and it would be an obstruction to development if the Department of Public Works and Highways is not allowed to implement the project there.
Unfortunately for Canoy, it doesn’t look like he’s building a road, let alone widening one.
Again, I have no idea what legal excuse Canoy can come up with. Unless, of course, he had assistance from the Mandaue City Government, or the DENR itself.
Then that’s entirely another matter altogether.