MANILA, Philippines — The humanitarian and advocacy arm of the Catholic Church on Friday said the recommendation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to cancel an agreement with the Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc. would be “detrimental to environmental protection efforts.”
According to Caritas Philippines vice president Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, the DENR’s proposed move “is unwise and would be detrimental to environmental protection efforts.”
READ: Foundation hits DENR for ‘irresponsible’ report on Masungi
“We are concerned about the real impact of this cancellation,” Alminaza said in a statement released by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
“This is a time when the government should be supporting successful initiatives, not hindering them,” he added.
Alminaza said the success of the award-winning reforestation project is already a testament to its positive impact.
Furthermore, the bishop reiterated Masungi Georeserve’s statement that the move seems to favor “large-scale fraudulent claimants, land grabbers, quarries and swimming pool resorts” rather than the people and the environment.
Due to this, the Catholic organization urged the DENR to explore alternative solutions to the issue, including negotiations and open dialogue.
“Caritas Philippines joins Masungi Georeserve in raising concerns that the cancellation could be a way to avoid the DENR’s obligation to remove illegal occupants from the protected area, including those with government ties,” Alminaza said.
Alminiza also urged the public to oppose the DENR decision and fight for the preservation of the Masungi Geopark Project.
It was in a Senate hearing on Wednesday when Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga revealed that the DENR had recommended canceling a 2017 deal with the Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc.
READ: Masungi Georeserve denies DENR claim its contract is ‘void ab initio’
This, she said, stemmed from advice from the Department of Justice, which indicated that Masungi’s contract to conserve a protected area was “void” from the very beginning.
But the Masungi Georeserve Foundation, for its part, said that the DENR’s claim that its contract is “void ab initio” (void from the beginning) is indefensible.
According to the foundation, the contract was validly established for conservation purposes under the DENR secretary’s authority, and the agreement does not grant perpetual land ownership to Masungi.
It also insisted that the agreement “remains valid and binding” until the court declares it void.
Furthermore, Masungi claimed that Yulo-Loyzaga has not even granted them an opportunity for negotiation yet.