ENVIRONMENTALIST lawyer Benjamin Cabredo has urged newly installed Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu to investigate the blunder committed by his men in Cebu.
Cabredo said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-7 erred in issuing a cease-and-desist order (CDO) against Island Shipping Corp. to stop operating its shipyard in Punta, San Remigio, Cebu.
He said it was as if “the unscrupulous DENR officials were influenced by an arrogant politician when it issued [a] CDO to Island Shipping even if the shipyard owner is Elite Fabrication Yard”.
Cabredo said Elite, his client, has been operating for the past four years without trouble until Island Shipping Corp. owner Alex Tan was allegedly harassed by Santa Fe Mayor Jose Egana, a member of the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape-Protected Areas Management Board (TSPS-PAMB) of the DENR.
He said he did not resect the illegal CDO, saying the DENR officials violated their own law, because before a CDO is issued, it must issue first a “show cause order” (SCO).
The CDO will stop the operation while the SCO will give the owner a chance to explain why the operation is legal.
Cabredo said there are three zones in Tañon Strait: First is the strict zone where no human activity is allowed; second is the buffer zone with limited human activity; and the third is the multiuse zone that can be used by people.
“Had the DENR officials conduct a ground survey, they may know the shipyard is part of the Hagnaya Channel, not Tañon Strait. Who among the DENR officials will debate with us at the Plaza Independencia on this matter?” he said.
The DENR officials also made it appear in public that the shipyard is operating without legal basis, even if Elite Fabrication Yard has been issued with an Environmental Compliance Certificate by the agency on December 9, 2013.
Cabredo said the DENR did not follow the requirements under the National Integrated Protected Areas Act.