Senator Cynthia Villar raised an eyebrow over a remark made by a DENR official during his presentation in the Senate hearing on the state of the country’s forest lands and watersheds in relation to the massive flooding during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses last month.
“That would make all our efforts in the protected area useless, ‘di ba ? With that statement, which should not come from the DENR,” the chairperson of the Senate environment committee commented.“Kasi kung sasabihin natin na kahit tigilin lahat ng urban development, kahit tigilin ang quarrying, if we want to add, mining, which are both banned anyway in protected areas…ay hindi maagapan, I agree, Madam Chair, I do not, cannot believe also.
“We should hear that from the Department of Public Works and Highways, not from you. My God, I am always telling them not to make those kind of statement because you are supposed to protect the environment,” she said.Sen. Imee Marcos said the remarks made it appear that the DENR is “giving up” on its mandate to protect the environment.
Still, Villar said: “It’s the same as saying that we should not protect the Marikina Watershed because it cannot stop flooding in Marikina. It’s an indirect way of justifying all those they are doing in the watershed.”
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