Senator Cynthia Villar scolded and lectured Thursday the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) officials over their statements on protecting the Marikina watershed.
During a Senate hearing, Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change said that “if all urban development and quarrying are stopped, and the Marikina watershed is fully planted with 10-year old mature trees, it will require nine times the whole area to absorb all the water during Typhoon Ulysses.”
“No matter how we fully plant the whole Marikina watershed, it still cannot absorb all the water during that event, typhoon Ulysses,” Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director Wilfredo Moncano told the senators.
However, Villar, who was presiding over the inquiry, expressed her dismay to officials’ remarks, saying it is not acceptable and should not come from DENR.
“That would make all our efforts on protecting the protected area useless… I’m always telling this DENR that you should not make statements like that,” Villar said. The senator also recalled some DENR officials’ supposed position that banning quarrying in the watershed would delay infrastructure projects in Metro Manila.
“I cannot imagine an officer of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources saying that. We should hear that from the Department of Public Works and Highways, not from you. You are justifying all the destruction of our environment… Na-shock na naman ako sa inyong department eh,” Senator Villar said.
Minority Senator Risa Hontiveros also expressed her dismay.
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Villar dismayed by DENR’s remarks on Marikina watershed
“Yung logical conclusion ng statement nilang yung would be, let’s just sacrifice the watershed in order to proceed with so-called development projects,” Hontiveros said.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said the stand of DENR is to protect the Marikina watershed.
“Sa computations, hindi lang kasi namin napag-usapan ‘yan,” Cimatu said.
The damage of typhoon Ulysses in Marikina could reach P30 billion, the city government estimated.
According to Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro, the massive flood brought by the typhoon damaged warehouses storing certain products, including its main merchandise, such as shoes and bag products.