Alvarez welcomes probe

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez welcomed yesterday a move by the Graft-Free Philippines Foundation (Graft Free) which asked the Office of the Ombudsman and the Presidential Commission Against Graft and Corruption to look into the second phase of DENR’s beautification project.

Alvarez said the project is "above board" and he has nothing to hide. He maintained that there was nothing irregular in using the budget savings of the DENR for the second phase of the beautification project of the DENR office along Visayas Avenue in Quezon City.

Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Julian Ambador said that there is no need to secure an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for the project, saying it has no negative impact on the environment.

The DENR Employees Union (DENREU) led by its president Julie Gorospe-Ibuan criticized the DENR’s decision to use the savings of the department for 2001 in the landscaping project in front of the lobby of the agency, which, accoridng to her, also did not undergo public bidding. – Jose Rodel Clapano