ALEGRIA OIL, GAS PROJECT AND TAÑON STRAIT
Environmental groups are going to take legal action against officials of national agencies if it will be found out that the oil and gas exploration in Alegria town can lead to the destruction of the Tañon Strait, a protected area.
Lawyer Gloria Estenzo, an environmentalist and columnist, said the gas and oil field in Alegria was sitting on the protected seascape, Tañon Strait, and the Alegria project would be considered an “ecologically critical” project.
“This latest oil and gas exploration project in a municipality which is part of the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape at that, exemplifies incoherent policies that do not prioritize ecological sustainability as framework for decisions,” Ramos said in a text message to Cebu Daily News.
The Tañon Strait is about 161-km-long body of water which separates the islands of Cebu and Negros.
The strait is dubbed as the largest marine protected area in the country, covering at least 521,018 hectares.
Ramos, a vice president of Oceana Philippines, a non-profit organization which promotes ocean and marine life conservation, said they are working on necessary documents to support their move.
She also questioned the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for issuing an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) — a requirement for both private companies and the government before they start a project which has a potential environmental risk.
“This is an ecologically critical project and in an ecologically critical area where rigid and thorough compliance with the requirements of our laws, including genuine public participation, is mandated,” Ramos said.
If it appears that officials from the DENR and the Department of Energy (DOE) approved the project, she said they are accountable for their actions.
“Definitely, if the assessment shows shortcut of the procedural requirements and scientific study of the risks to the environment, health, livelihoods of the people, government will be required to explain,” she said.
Some of the applicable laws that they may have violated are the Philippine Environmental Impact Assessment System Act, Clean Water Act, Renewable Energy Act, Fisheries Code, among others.
She said they will also look into the local government unit (LGU) of Alegria if they approved the oil and gas exploration through an ordinance.
Aside from Oceana Philippines, Ramos said non-government organizations (NGOs) such as Philippine Earth Justice Center, Environmental Legal Action Inc., Tambuyog, fisherfolks, farmers, students and others, are united with the same cause that is to preserve the environment.
“(This is) to ensure that our non-negotiable right to a healthy environment, the right to health and livelihoods and the children’s right to a sustainable future, are not compromised by the duty-holder, our government,” she said.