Due to the current debacle of the Subic bay Forest Condominium purposely built by Hanjin to house it’s employees, I asked myself , is the Hanjin Company from Korea had a special treatment on Arroyo’s regime?..It’s fair to say as what Sen. Gordon said before in a previous interview “the government needs to tread carefully on the issue because Hanjin is the biggest investor in the country today”, is it really fair and ok to sacrifice our forest for the benefits of this so called “super investor” in which standard and safety is the last thing in their agenda..The death of many workers/employee due to below the standard safety regulation plus the foreseen death of the Subic’s protected wildlife is enough for us to comment and act.
As a response to what SBMA Administrator Arreza ’s claim that there are no ground to stop the Condominium project by Hanjin, Clemente Bautista, National Coordinator of Kalikasan People's Network today cited three (3) reasons why said project must be scrapped…
Firstly, it is ecologically destructive, as the project stands to impact on the Subic Forest Reserve Area, one of the few remaining forest reserve areas in the country. More importantly, the area in question boasts of high biodiversity, containing approximately 15 percent of the bird species in Luzon, 10,000 fruit bat colonies and 27 endemic vertebrate species. In addition, disturbances to the Subic Forest ecosystem will affect 157 hectares of mangrove areas located in the Central Luzon region.
This is unfortunate as the Philippine forest is in critical stage, with 2004 data showing that the country only has 14 -18 percent forest cover left. This is way below the 54 percent forest cover standard for a tropical country to remain ecologically stable. In such a condition, each remaining forest cover must be protected.
Secondly, there is a glaring lack of consultation with the members of the affected communities, especially the Aeta indigenous group which had been occupying the area for centuries. Since the project area encroaches on parts of their ancestral domain, the Aetas possess the right to be consulted about possible projects to be implemented in the site.
Finally, the project illustrates the outright sale of national patrimony. Hanjin does not deserve a special treatment from the Arroyo administration to be allowed to enter an ecologically critical and protected area? A foreign company was easily given the right to own and control our forest land.
Granting that the Hanjin project passed all the test and requirements to built it’s condominium in a protected wildlife sanctuary, is Hanjin the victim in case the land is proven to be protected for they apply for permit in good faith and the SBMA Management approves it?. Do we expect more project to encroach over our protected forest environment and ancestral domain of our indigenous people?..Are the laws passed to protect the environment such as the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) and Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA) proved to be a failure and just like any other law who have no teeth?.. Does anyone take a look at a report where the said condominium building is being built without Environmental Clearance Certificate and only been issued upon 20% of the structure had been built? Just wondering.
Sources:
• http://subicbulletin.blogspot.com/2008/04/where-is-super-investor-that-will-save.html
• http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2008/0406_legarda1.asp
• http://www.bulatlat.com/2008/04/condo-forest-reserve-render-laws-protecting-environment-ip-rights-failure
• http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080414-130186/Hanjin-condo-projects-began-without-ECC
