Amendment to EIS law pushed

CEBU, Philippines - Conservationists in the Visayas are gathering supports to push for the amendment of the Environmental Impact System law.

This is because the current implementing rules and guidelines of the EIS has diluted the preventive aspect of the law allowing loopholes for  plantation and mining corporations to take advantage of, according to a legal study commissioned by the Interface Development Interventions.

Lawyer Raymond Salas, IDIS board of trustees, said during the forum on Strengthening Environmental Impact Statement System yesterday that the current EIS no longer requires public consultations before the issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificate.

“If there are projects or development in a specific area, there has to be social acceptability because public participation is essential,” Salas said.

The original intention of the EIS was to provide participatory mechanisms for stakeholders in the approval of development projects, said IDIS advocacy coordinator Chinkie Pelino.

Unfortunately, Pelino said in a statement, this is no longer the case since the amendment to the guidelines has allowed companies to treat the EIS merely as a planning document instead of a binding social contract with the affected communities and the company with corresponding obligations and liabilities in case of violations.

Pelino said that the previous Administrative Order, DAO 37-96, had been generally accepted by the environmental civil society groups because it incorporated mandatory consultations, social acceptability and other environmental safeguards in the EIS system.

However, she said, the new AO changed all these, that instead of requiring all Environmentally Critical Projects and other development projects in Environmentally Critical Areas to under ECC, the DAO 30-2003 now limits the ECC only to projects which pose potential significant impact to the environment.

“This goes against the law’s intent which is to provide a protective oversight function over all projects,” she added.

Lawyer Gloria Ramos, co-founder of Philippine Earth Justice Center, said DAO 30-2003 runs contrary to Section 26 of the Local Government Code which underscores the Constitutional right to public participation.

Ramos said that public hearings on development projects must not be held only at the discretion of the Environmental Management Bureau but must be a mandatory activity in the interest of the public. (FREEMAN)