DAGUPAN CITY, Jan. 6 (PNA)—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Public Highways (DPWH) are on a collision course over the construction of a new highway leading to Zambales from Pangasinan.
The DPWH is accusing the DENR of blocking the project but the latter insists that it is only doing its duties to protect the environment and has deployed its forest rangers in the area to prevent any earth-moving activity and the cutting of trees
Romeo Nalupa, community environment and natural resources officer based in Dagupan City appealed to the DPWH and the alleged contractor of the project, Marcial Punzal, to first comply with all the requirements before proceeding with the work.
“Actually, we have advised the DPWH and the alleged contractor to stop any earth-moving (activities) and cutting of trees within the proposed road until such time that the corresponding Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and Special Land Use with Tree Cutting Permit are issued or approved by the DENR”, Nalupa said
If only they followed our instruction to stop any earth-moving activities and the cutting of trees, everything should have been in order, Nalupa stressed.
Nalupa specifically asked the DPWH and the contractor to refrain from doing anything on the project until the approval by the DENR of the ECC and the required permit
He said the DENR had done its part and conducted inventory on the trees to be affected, numbering around 200, but was caught flat-footed when the DPWH, through the contractor, began constructing the more than 30-meter wide road and already cut trees.
The trees include timber trees like lauaan, tanguili and other tree species.
He said the DPWH should stop the project until such time that all the requirements and authorization are properly approved by the DENR, stressing that there is no need to hurry.
“My men are there (watching the project) but they could not stay there 24 hours a day because the place is quite far,” he said.
The new highway is being carved on parts of public domain, following the alignment of an old mountain trail previously taken by trucks of timber concessionaires, located in the border areas of Pangasinan and Zambales.
Sloping operations on the proposed road were done early last year by the district highway engineering offices of both Pangasinan and Zambales.
The new road will commence from Aguilar, then to Mangatarem, Pangasinan before reaching the border of Zambales.
When completed, it will be the second highway that will link Pangasinan and Zambales after the existing Infanta (Pangasinan)-Narciso (Zambales) road. (PNA)
