While critics have chosen to keep silent for the moment, the City of Dumaguete was forced to stop the reclamation project at the Rizal Boulevard after it received a Cease and Desist Order from the DENR because of the suspension of its Environmental Compliance Certificate.
The DENR Order, dated September 2 but received only last Wednesday, was triggered by the City’s move to undertake the project without the required Notice to Proceed.
This is strange. A requirement like a simple Notice to Proceed is basic procedure. This requirement was even spelled out by the DENR when it granted an Environmental Compliance Certificate last June. People — not necessarily lawyers — familiar with government transactions know that a Notice to Proceed could spell the difference between success or failure. Between a Sandiganbayan case or a clean slate from the Commission on Audit.
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In addition to the order, the City was fined P50,000. Who will pay the fine — those who insisted on disobeying the DENR or the City taxpayers? Hopefully, the former.
It was, however, surprising to see agents of the National Bureau of Investigation arresting garbage collectors and drivers of the City for dumping garbage at the City dumpsite last Thursday since the dumpsite had already been ordered closed by the DENR.
This, too, is strange. The agents, who came from NBI Manila and who allegedly did not coordinate with their local counterparts or the local police, came on the day the City stopped the reclamation activity at the boulevard.
Mayor Felipe Remollo couldn’t help but voice suspicion about the timing and the motive of the arrests, especially because the DENR had already approved a safe closure and rehabilitation plan for the dumpsite.
Indeed, the situation is getting curiouser and curiouser. Let’s see how this pans out.
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