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[av_heading heading=’URBAN FARMER | What will happen now at the DENR?’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY JULIO P. YAP JR.
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Wednesday, May 10, 2017
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DAYS have passed but several sectors continued to air their sentiments on the decision of the Commission on Appointments to reject the appointment of Gina Lopez as head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Activists from Greenpeace Philippines blockaded the gates of the DENR head office in Quezon City on Monday to air their protest on what they claimed as the continued control of the Philippine government by big business interests, and as a failure of the current administration to stand by the reforms it is pursuing.
Greenpeace locked the gates of the DENR and eight activists, wearing orange jumpsuits and with tube locks connecting their arms, occupied both front gates of the agency, impeding access by visitors to the compound.
A long banner that read “DENR: Not open for Business” was also posted outside the compound.
They also asked President Rodrigo Duterte why he never firmly stood for Lopez’s appointment to the agency.
The protesters said that every Filipino deserves the right to live, to breathe clean air, to drink clean water, and to live in a clean and safe environment.
Based from what they said, the CA’s rejection of Gina Lopez is a sign that horse-trading is still the name of the game and that powerful business executives and corrupt government officials still run the show.
The DENR should be defended against the interests of corporations that push the country towards environmental bankruptcy. The agency – and indeed our environment – is not for sale nor is it available to the highest bidder, the protesters said.
The group said that with the rejection of Lopez, the reforms she introduced should be protected and continued.
They are also calling for transparency and accountability on the votes cast by the members of the CA.
It can be recalled that Lopez ordered the closure of at least 23 mining corporations located in watersheds, suspended five others, and cancelled 75 mining contracts.
She was also able to dismantle illegal fish pens at the Laguna de Bay that threaten small fisherfolk in the area.
Her actions have angered big mining corporations, prompting at least 27 oppositions to her confirmation filed with the CA.
The CA held the voting in secret, a new rule that was only introduced prior to Lopez’s and former Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay’s confirmation hearings.
According to the protesters, the CA members who have interests in or connections to mining corporations also refused calls to inhibit themselves from the hearings.
Greenpeace is challenging both Houses of Congress to scrap midnight provisions and launch investigations into the actions and decisions of their members that now effectively protect public officials having conflicts-of-interest from public scrutiny.
Greenpeace also manifested their reaction to the appointment of Roy Cimatu as DENR Secretary.
Greenpeace is concerned that President Duterte has appointed someone else so quickly without first addressing the issues raised in Secretary Lopez’s term and the circumstances surrounding her rejection.
What will happen now to the reforms started by Gina Lopez? (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)
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