Quick issuance of environmental certificates blamed for Davao flooding

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—A consultant to the city government has blamed the regional office of the Environmental Management Bureau in Southern Mindanao for the floods in Davao City, saying the agency has not been selective and critical in the issuance of environmental compliance certificates.

Danilo Dayanghirang, a former Davao City councilor, told reporters here that business establishments could easily obtain ECCs even if their activities were destructive to the environment.

“To be frank, some of the ECCs were pro forma,” he said.

Dayanghirang, for example, cited building constructions by some companies, which he said, were contributing to the clogging of canals.

There was also the unregulated issuance of ECCs to quarry operators, even if their activities were known to cause floods.

“EMB should look into this problem: our mountains are cut because of massive quarrying operations,” Dayanghirang said.

But Jim Sampulna, regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Southern Mindanao, said faulting the EMB was “misplaced blame.”

“ECC is only a planning tool and not a permit in itself. The permit to operate is still being issued by the city government,” Sampulna said by phone.

Sampulna said what was needed was a concerted effort to address the flooding in the city.

Last June, 31 people were killed when flash flood swept through Davao’s Talomo district. The floods displaced 15,000 families and destroyed millions of pesos in property.

Sampulna said that instead of blaming a particular agency for the floods, the city government should work hand in hand with environmental protection offices to craft a plan to prevent disasters from recurring.

“Let’s work together. For example, we have a law on the three-meter river bank. How can we plant trees in our river banks if there are informal settlers there?” he asked.

He said as far the issuance of ECCs was concerned, the DENR has formed a committee that would conduct geohazard studies before any document would be issued to a particular activity.