By Jhelyn G. Andal

 

 

            The Provincial Board last week blamed the mining lobby as being behind the issuance of Executive Order (EO) 473, transferring the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) from the Office of the President to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

 

PCSD is one of the agencies that issue clearances on projects affecting the environment of Palawan.

 

The Board specifically questioned “simplicity, economy and efficiency” as reasons stated by the EO for the transfer. According to them, PCSD has been working for the province’s sustainable development for 16 years since its creation in 1992.

 

“The bottom line of all of these is mining,” Board Member Vicky de Guzman said. She added that the EO might pave the way for a new DENR secretary who favors mining and that the president might be ill-advised regarding the order.

 

The Board fears that the province might be more prone to mining operations because of the order. DENR is the chief body in giving mining permits and it had already issued a memorandum stating that there would be no need for mining companies to secure local endorsements and permits.

 

Board Members Ernesto Llacuna and Modesto Rodriguez II even questioned Pres. Arroyo with her intentions for Palawan. Llacuna recalled GMA saying that Malampaya was off Palawan coast which was contrary to her statement during a previous visit that “Palawan is the richest province in the country because of its natural gas deposits.”

 

“Now that she issued EO 734, we feel uncertain with PGMA’s sincerity and commitment to Palawan,” Llacuna said.

 

Rodriguez, on the other hand, challenged first and second district representatives Antonio Alvarez and Abraham Mitra to speak about the EO in Congress.

 

In a privilege speech, Vice-Gov. David Ponce de Leon pointed that the Congress itself said that PCSD should be with the Office of the President and not in any other agency.