THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has yet to fully study the potential impact of a federal form of government on the country’s environment and natural resources.
Sought for comment on the draft Federal Constitution and its potential impact to the environment and natural resources sector, an official said the DENR as a whole may begin studying the proposed Federal Constitution next week.
There is no order coming from Secretary Roy A. Cimatu or Malacañang to study and comment on the draft Constitution, according to DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning, International Affairs and Foreign-assisted Projects Jonas R. Leones. However, it is incumbent upon the agency to study the framework of the proposed Constitution.
Leones, Cimatu’s designated spokesman, said a copy of the draft Constitution fell on his lap only last week.
“I’ve just started reading it. Of course, because this is a proposed Constitution, it will definitely affect the environment and natural resources sector,” Leones, a lawyer, added.
The official said last year, the DENR’s participation in the drafting of the proposed Constitution is limited to providing the body that reviewed the 1987 Constitution an accurate data about the Philippines in terms of land area, the classification of its land resources, forestland, wetlands, lakes and various mineral deposits.
With the draft of the proposed Constitution now officially in his hand, Leones said it is incumbent upon him to read it and submit a comprehensive report to Cimatu.
“Hopefully in the next few days, we will come up with a position paper for submission to Malacañang,” he added.
Leones said it is important to study the proposed Federal Constitution as it may change the way the country’s environment and natural resources are managed, especially in terms of natural resource exploitation.
“As far as what I’ve heard in the news about it, under the proposed Constitution, the federal law will reign supreme over the individual state’s laws,” he said. But then again, he said it is prudent to study the proposed Constitution’s implication to existing laws, including the Philippines’s international commitments, such as treaties signed under the 1987 Constitution.
He said he also expects the DENR chief to call for an Executive Committee meeting to tackle the proposed Federal Constitution soon.
“If you ask me, if it will bring about peace and development say, in the case of the BBL [Bangsamora Basic Law], if it will lead to peace and development, it is okay to give the management of the natural resources to Mindanao,” Leones added.
In the case of the proposed Federal Constitution, he said there is still a need to study its potential impact, especially in the case of mining, quarrying or any natural resources exploitation.