The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is looking at compliance and possible violations that may have been contracted with the Manila Bay reclamation, and determine its effects on the environment. In a media briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said as of now, they have already observed several violations for those that have started working and also started talking to them. 'There are discussions ongoing with at least one party. Since bago lang ang release ng information (the information was just released recently), they will be called in for a technical conference to see whether may explanation po sila sa mga in-observe na (they have an explanation on the observed) potential non-compliance,' Loyzaga said. 'May mga issue for example na related to mga conditions na (There are issues for example that are related to the conditions) on the basis of which the 'no objection' was given by other departments and agencies. So, there are conditions that need to be complied with in order for the 'no objection' to actually take effect,' she added. Loyzaga explained that conditions are specifically identified in the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), and so, the DENR is meticulously looking at each of the specific conditions and see whether contractors have complied or not. Meanwhile, she said the DENR is also doing a cumulative impact assessment of the different individual projects related to the Manila Bay reclamation. She explained that during the past administration, evaluations were done on an individual basis. 'Globally po, ang practice (The global practice is) whenever you have several projects in a single ecosystem, you need a cumulative impact assessment, and so we are undertaking that," Loyzaga said. She added that they are now using the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan which was contracted during the previous administration, as the baseline, and comparing it with the technical descriptions of all the different reclamation projects in Manila Bay. However, she said there is also a question in terms of a complication layer. The DENR is one of the mandamus agencies in the decision by the Supreme Court to rehabilitate the bay. Loyzaga said their concern now is that its task in terms of implementing that mandamus may be impeded by these developments. 'So, we have a mandamus that we need to implement -- that's by law already, by the decision of the Supreme Court, and we need to also now actually evaluate the cumulative impact of all of those projects together,' she said.

Source: Philippines News Agency