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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) D U M A G U E T E C I T Y) SS
x------------------------------------------x
DR. ANGEL C. ALCALA and DR. ELY ALCALA, both of legal age, married, and
residents of Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, after being sworn in accordance
with law, depose and state:
1. Affiant Angel Alcala was Secretary of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources from 1992 to 1995 and is presently the director of the
Silliman University – Angelo King Center for Research and Environment
Management. He has been involved in development projects on land and in coastal
areas and in studies and programs for environmental conservation since the
1960s. He is the author or co-author of 160 mainly peer-reviewed papers in
scientific journals on Marine Biology and Ecology, Vertebrate Biology and
Conservation, Marine Protected Areas and Marine Resources Management , of which
7 are books on Marine Conservation, Philippine Amphibians and Reptiles, and
Science, Conservation, and Development in the Philippine Setting.
2. Affiant Ely Alcala is a research associate of the Silliman University Angelo
King Center for Research and Environmental Management and Asst.Professor at
Silliman University. He is an accredited EIS preparer and has conducted EIS
since 1993. He currently serves as member of the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes
Natural Park Management Board (PAMB) at Negros Oriental and PAMB member of the
Southern Cauayan Municipal Forest and Watershed Reserve at Negros Occidental.
He has done research on wildlife and published articles (in national and
international journals) on the effects of fragmentation on wildlife and
wildlife habitats.
3. Affiant Angel Alcala became DENR Secretary shortly after R.A. 7586
established the National Integrated Protected Areas System in 1992 and the
24,557.60 hectares of Mt. Canlaon National Park became an initial component of
the NIPAS, subject to the protection of the said law.
4. RA 7586 recognizes the critical importance of protecting and maintaining the
natural biological and physical diversities of the environment notably in areas
with biologically unique features to sustain human life and development, as
well as plant and animal life. RA 7586 declares it the “policy of the State to
secure for the Filipino people of present and future generations the perpetual
existence of all native plants and animals through the establishment of a
comprehensive system of integrated protected areas within the classification of
national park as provided for in the Constitution. (Sec. 2). The law adds “the
use and enjoyment of these protected areas must be consistent with the
principles of biological diversity and sustainable development.”
5. The NIPAS Law (Sec. 14) and its subsequent IRR (Sec. 54, DAO 25 Series of
1992) provides that “Any exploitation and utilization of energy resources found
within NIPAS areas shall be allowed only through a law passed by Congress.
“
6. On December 1, 1993, affiant Angel Alcala as DENR Secretary, issued an
Environmental Compliance Certificate to the Northern Negros Geothermal
Exploration of Philippine National Oil Company. The ECC covered the exploration
of three geothermal wells for possible power development located in a total
area of 12.2 hectares in Sitio Upper Catugasan, Barangay Minoyan of Murcia,
Negros Occidental, and in Sitio Lanao, Barangay Mailum of Bago City. No part of
the 12.5 hectare area contemplated was within the original 24,557.6 hectares of
the Mount Canlaon National/Natural Park as such exploration within the park was
prohibited without an act of Congress.
7. On December 5, 1995, a new DENR Secretary, Victor O. Ramos granted an
Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC is Annex “E” of the complaint) to the
Philippine National Oil Corporation for the Northern Negros Geothermal Project
in Bago City and the municipality of Murcia. The ECC’s conditions
included:
1. This certificate is valid only for the development of a geothermal field
consisting of 36 production and reinjection wells to provide steam for an 80 MW
power plant within a total development area of 220 hectares in sitios Hagdan,
Pataan, Bago City, and Catugasan, Murcia, Negros Occidental.
2-4. Any expansion beyond the 220 hectare development area shall be subject to
the EIA requirement. 25. All necessary permits from other government agencies
shall be secured. Activities that will be undertaken within the multiple use
zone of Mt. Kanlaon National Park and/or its buffer zone will be subject to the
approval of the Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB) if these are considered
within the scope of the Management Plan of said park. Otherwise, an EIA will be
required.
8. As an initial component of the NIPAS, no part of Mt. Canlaon’s original
24,557.6 hectares (includes the 169 hectare “buffer zone) could be explored, or
the geothermal resources therein exploited and utilized without an act of
Congress. The 1995 ECC was therefore valid only with respect to areas outside
the existing boundaries of the National/Natural Park. The ECC was contrary to
law and void with respect to geothermal exploration and development within the
24,557.6 NIPAS protected area.
9. Where the 169 hectares (in 1995, still part of the NIPAS protected area) is
concerned, the 1995 ECC is also void as it was issued without prior
consultation with or the approval of the PAMB (organized in 1994) and without
an EIA for this environmentally critical project in an environmentally critical
area.
10. The EIA submitted by PNOC-EDC in 1995 for its geothermal project did not
categorically point out possible encroachment on the original boundaries of the
Mount Canlaon National Park, hence the site-specific project impacts i.e., on
the physical condition and biological resources of the site were not properly
determined. The EIA also did not highlight any scoping mechanisms on the extent
of project coverage.
11. PNOC’s 1995 Environmental Impact Statement understated the ecological
importance of the area by claiming that almost 50% of the site is grassland,
32% croplands, and only 18% is forested. The EIA also failed to identify
species of high conservation value such as the endemic and threatened species
found in the area.
12. If the EIA contemplated entry into the original protected area of Mt.
Canlaon, it should have provided more details specifically in terms of resource
inventory, considering Mt. Canlaon’s status as a protected area and an
important conservation site. It should also have properly drawn mitigating
measures after a complete survey was conducted, while impact with irreversible
damages should have been properly presented to the stakeholders as part of
informed decision making.
13. This 1995 EIA cannot be the basis of the 1995 ECC where geothermal
development within the original 24,557.6 hectare protected area is
concerned.
14. When R.A. 9154 disestablished the 169 hectares as part of the protected
area of the MKNP in 2001, the conversion of the area into a buffer zone for
geothermal development, did not thereby make the 1995 ECC valid for geothermal
development in the 169 hectares.
15. The Philippine EIS System considers as a critical factor the location of
the project and its vulnerability to disturbances due to its ecological
importance, endangered or protected status, conformity to existing laws and
regulations, relative abundance, quality, and regenerative capacity of natural
resources in the area. Assuming but without admitting that the buffer zone
provisions of R.A. 9154 are constitutional, geothermal development in the area
still requires a new EIA that is site specific and an ECC issued on the basis
of the EIA.
16. The viability of the project appears to be hanging on guesswork. The recent
EDC development plans states that “ the center of the geothermal resource is
postulated to be located further southeast of Pataan into the Jardin Sang Balo
Sector, which is already within the confines of MKNP”(3rd paragraph, page 5 of
68). This ambiguous statement strongly suggests that EDC is not sure where the
viable wells are and therefore has a propensity to trigger wanton exploration
and destruction of the park area.
17. Buffer zones are supposed to avoid or minimize harm to the protected area.
Relegating a protection zone to buffer zone defeats the essence of habitat
protection and if allowed in MKNP will become a dangerous precedent for
justifying encroachment into other park zones. The NIPAS concept of buffer
zones actually does not assure protection of adjacent areas simply because they
are based on social and economic accommodations rather than resource
protection.
18. An underlying Principle of Precaution in Landscape Ecology challenges the
rationality of landscape alteration in critical habitats. Opening up patches in
forested areas and regenerating forest patches and manipulating these patches
to conform to human use have been generally found to be disruptive on natural
communities and animal habitats. This principle proved correct when we were
conducting studies on effects of forest fragmentation in southern Negros in
2003.
19. Energy Development Corporation’s plan for geothermal development in the
“buffer zone” is not authorized by the 1995 ECC and it is not covered by a site
specific EIA. The cutting of more than 4,000 trees, earthmoving, drilling, and
construction of roads, well-pads, wells, and pipes within the 169 hectare
“buffer zone” will therefore be in violation of the NIPAS law and the EIS
system, both of which safeguard the constitutional right to a healthful and
balanced ecology.
20. If not restrained, the destruction will be irreversible and will have been
completed by the time a final decision in the case is made. The destruction of
this part of the primary forest will have harmful consequences that will be
felt by future generations.
21. This affidavit is executed to attest to the truth of the statements
contained herein and to support the prayer for a Temporary Restraining Order
and a Preliminary Injunction in the case entitled Delia Ediltrudes Locsin, et
al. vs. Energy Development Corporation, DENR Secretary Jose Lito Atienza, and
the PAMB.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, affiants have hereunto affixed their signatures this 23rd
day of July, 2008 in the City of Dumaguete.
ActivityRank: 0
DR. ANGEL C. ALCALA and DR. ELY ALCALA, both of legal age, married, and residents of Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, after being sworn in accordance with law, depose and state:
1. Affiant Angel Alcala was Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources from 1992 to 1995 and is presently the director of the Silliman University – Angelo King Center for Research and Environment Management. He has been involved in development projects on land and in coastal areas and in studies and programs for environmental conservation since the 1960s. He is the author or co-author of 160 mainly peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals on Marine Biology and Ecology, Vertebrate Biology and Conservation, Marine Protected Areas and Marine Resources Management , of which 7 are books on Marine Conservation, Philippine Amphibians and Reptiles, and Science, Conservation, and Development in the Philippine Setting.
2. Affiant Ely Alcala is a research associate of the Silliman University Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management and Asst.Professor at Silliman University. He is an accredited EIS preparer and has conducted EIS since 1993. He currently serves as member of the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park Management Board (PAMB) at Negros Oriental and PAMB member of the Southern Cauayan Municipal Forest and Watershed Reserve at Negros Occidental. He has done research on wildlife and published articles (in national and international journals) on the effects of fragmentation on wildlife and wildlife habitats.
3. Affiant Angel Alcala became DENR Secretary shortly after R.A. 7586 established the National Integrated Protected Areas System in 1992 and the 24,557.60 hectares of Mt. Canlaon National Park became an initial component of the NIPAS, subject to the protection of the said law.
4. RA 7586 recognizes the critical importance of protecting and maintaining the natural biological and physical diversities of the environment notably in areas with biologically unique features to sustain human life and development, as well as plant and animal life. RA 7586 declares it the “policy of the State to secure for the Filipino people of present and future generations the perpetual existence of all native plants and animals through the establishment of a comprehensive system of integrated protected areas within the classification of national park as provided for in the Constitution. (Sec. 2). The law adds “the use and enjoyment of these protected areas must be consistent with the principles of biological diversity and sustainable development.”
5. The NIPAS Law (Sec. 14) and its subsequent IRR (Sec. 54, DAO 25 Series of 1992) provides that “Any exploitation and utilization of energy resources found within NIPAS areas shall be allowed only through a law passed by Congress. “
6. On December 1, 1993, affiant Angel Alcala as DENR Secretary, issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate to the Northern Negros Geothermal Exploration of Philippine National Oil Company. The ECC covered the exploration of three geothermal wells for possible power development located in a total area of 12.2 hectares in Sitio Upper Catugasan, Barangay Minoyan of Murcia, Negros Occidental, and in Sitio Lanao, Barangay Mailum of Bago City. No part of the 12.5 hectare area contemplated was within the original 24,557.6 hectares of the Mount Canlaon National/Natural Park as such exploration within the park was prohibited without an act of Congress.
7. On December 5, 1995, a new DENR Secretary, Victor O. Ramos granted an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC is Annex “E” of the complaint) to the Philippine National Oil Corporation for the Northern Negros Geothermal Project in Bago City and the municipality of Murcia. The ECC’s conditions included:
1. This certificate is valid only for the development of a geothermal field consisting of 36 production and reinjection wells to provide steam for an 80 MW power plant within a total development area of 220 hectares in sitios Hagdan, Pataan, Bago City, and Catugasan, Murcia, Negros Occidental.
2-4. Any expansion beyond the 220 hectare development area shall be subject to the EIA requirement. 25. All necessary permits from other government agencies shall be secured. Activities that will be undertaken within the multiple use zone of Mt. Kanlaon National Park and/or its buffer zone will be subject to the approval of the Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB) if these are considered within the scope of the Management Plan of said park. Otherwise, an EIA will be required.
8. As an initial component of the NIPAS, no part of Mt. Canlaon’s original 24,557.6 hectares (includes the 169 hectare “buffer zone) could be explored, or the geothermal resources therein exploited and utilized without an act of Congress. The 1995 ECC was therefore valid only with respect to areas outside the existing boundaries of the National/Natural Park. The ECC was contrary to law and void with respect to geothermal exploration and development within the 24,557.6 NIPAS protected area.
9. Where the 169 hectares (in 1995, still part of the NIPAS protected area) is concerned, the 1995 ECC is also void as it was issued without prior consultation with or the approval of the PAMB (organized in 1994) and without an EIA for this environmentally critical project in an environmentally critical area.
10. The EIA submitted by PNOC-EDC in 1995 for its geothermal project did not categorically point out possible encroachment on the original boundaries of the Mount Canlaon National Park, hence the site-specific project impacts i.e., on the physical condition and biological resources of the site were not properly determined. The EIA also did not highlight any scoping mechanisms on the extent of project coverage.
11. PNOC’s 1995 Environmental Impact Statement understated the ecological importance of the area by claiming that almost 50% of the site is grassland, 32% croplands, and only 18% is forested. The EIA also failed to identify species of high conservation value such as the endemic and threatened species found in the area.
12. If the EIA contemplated entry into the original protected area of Mt. Canlaon, it should have provided more details specifically in terms of resource inventory, considering Mt. Canlaon’s status as a protected area and an important conservation site. It should also have properly drawn mitigating measures after a complete survey was conducted, while impact with irreversible damages should have been properly presented to the stakeholders as part of informed decision making.
13. This 1995 EIA cannot be the basis of the 1995 ECC where geothermal development within the original 24,557.6 hectare protected area is concerned.
14. When R.A. 9154 disestablished the 169 hectares as part of the protected area of the MKNP in 2001, the conversion of the area into a buffer zone for geothermal development, did not thereby make the 1995 ECC valid for geothermal development in the 169 hectares.
15. The Philippine EIS System considers as a critical factor the location of the project and its vulnerability to disturbances due to its ecological importance, endangered or protected status, conformity to existing laws and regulations, relative abundance, quality, and regenerative capacity of natural resources in the area. Assuming but without admitting that the buffer zone provisions of R.A. 9154 are constitutional, geothermal development in the area still requires a new EIA that is site specific and an ECC issued on the basis of the EIA.
16. The viability of the project appears to be hanging on guesswork. The recent EDC development plans states that “ the center of the geothermal resource is postulated to be located further southeast of Pataan into the Jardin Sang Balo Sector, which is already within the confines of MKNP”(3rd paragraph, page 5 of 68). This ambiguous statement strongly suggests that EDC is not sure where the viable wells are and therefore has a propensity to trigger wanton exploration and destruction of the park area.
17. Buffer zones are supposed to avoid or minimize harm to the protected area. Relegating a protection zone to buffer zone defeats the essence of habitat protection and if allowed in MKNP will become a dangerous precedent for justifying encroachment into other park zones. The NIPAS concept of buffer zones actually does not assure protection of adjacent areas simply because they are based on social and economic accommodations rather than resource protection.
18. An underlying Principle of Precaution in Landscape Ecology challenges the rationality of landscape alteration in critical habitats. Opening up patches in forested areas and regenerating forest patches and manipulating these patches to conform to human use have been generally found to be disruptive on natural communities and animal habitats. This principle proved correct when we were conducting studies on effects of forest fragmentation in southern Negros in 2003.
19. Energy Development Corporation’s plan for geothermal development in the “buffer zone” is not authorized by the 1995 ECC and it is not covered by a site specific EIA. The cutting of more than 4,000 trees, earthmoving, drilling, and construction of roads, well-pads, wells, and pipes within the 169 hectare “buffer zone” will therefore be in violation of the NIPAS law and the EIS system, both of which safeguard the constitutional right to a healthful and balanced ecology.
20. If not restrained, the destruction will be irreversible and will have been completed by the time a final decision in the case is made. The destruction of this part of the primary forest will have harmful consequences that will be felt by future generations.
21. This affidavit is executed to attest to the truth of the statements contained herein and to support the prayer for a Temporary Restraining Order and a Preliminary Injunction in the case entitled Delia Ediltrudes Locsin, et al. vs. Energy Development Corporation, DENR Secretary Jose Lito Atienza, and the PAMB.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, affiants have hereunto affixed their signatures this 23rd day of July, 2008 in the City of Dumaguete.
ANGEL. C. ALCALA ELY ALCALA