The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has guaranteed it will issue cease-and-desist orders to halt ongoing projects in Taguig City tied to illegal reclamation works there, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Saturday.
Lacson said DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon “guaranteed” him the agency will immediately issue the cease-and-desist orders upon receiving the appropriate requests from the Philippine Reclamation Authority.
“Sec. Dizon guaranteed that once he receives the PRA’s request to issue cease-and-desist orders, he will issue them immediately,” he said in English and Filipino in an interview on DZMM radio.
“This will prevent the worsening of the situation where government money is wasted on contractors who are doing the wrong thing,” he added.
In Filipino: Lacson: DPWH, Ginarantiyahang Ihihinto ang mga Proyektong Kaugnay ng Ilegal na Reclamation sa Taguig
He said Dizon gave the assurance when they met last Thursday to discuss the matter. He added their findings so far show the reclamation activities cover at least 85 hectares.
Earlier, Lacson pointed out that all unpermitted reclaimed areas in Taguig are subject to forfeiture, whether they belong to the local government or to private individuals or entities.
“Under the law, you cannot cure that defect because the reclamation works that started without the needed permits are void ab initio or from the very beginning,” he said.
Lacson also pointed out the reclamation activities, aside from involving ghost slope protection and flood mitigation projects, may harm the environment as they involve dumping into Laguna Lake the garbage that was supposed to be brought to the Rizal provincial sanitary landfill.
“You can’t do that because if you dump garbage meant for the landfill, you destroy the lake and the reclaimed area will have a weak foundation. But those activities did not stop then because the officials looking into the matter were harassed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lacson maintained he and his staff are confident in the evidence they turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman on the ghost projects in Taguig City, saying these are “glaring.”
He also said they are now verifying title numbers covering some of the lots involved in the reclamation projects. While the title numbers indicate that the lots belong to private citizens, Lacson said they are checking how the titles were issued and whether they may have been procured through fraudulent means.
“There are many sellers there, some with fake titles and all sorts of titles. We are now vetting the title numbers we have to determine where they originated, how parts of Laguna Lake came to have titles, and how the reclamation works were disguised as slope protection,” he said.
“This is the issue that became complicated because Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano did nothing but post on Facebook. Instead of defending his turf and addressing the issues, he resorts to name-calling. And I was surprised because before, I thought Bulacan was the microcosm representing the flood control problem. It turns out Taguig is really something else as we discovered,” he added.
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Lacson: DPWH, Ginarantiyahang Ihihinto ang mga Proyektong Kaugnay ng Ilegal na Reclamation sa Taguig
Ginagarantiyahan ng Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) nta maglalabas ito ng cease-and-desist orders para ihinto ang mga ongoing project sa Taguig City na may kaugnayan sa ilegal na reclamation doon, ayon kay Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson nitong Sabado.
Sinabi ni Lacson na “ginagarantiyahan” sa kanya ni DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon na agad na mag-iisyu ang ahensya ng mga cease-and-desist orders sa oras na matanggap nito ang kaukulang kahilingan mula sa Philippine Reclamation Authority.
“Guarantee niya once na ma-receive niya ang request ng PRA para mag-issue ng cease-and-desist order, agad-agad siyang mag-issue ng cease-and-desist order,” aniya sa isang panayam sa DZMM radio.
“Para hindi lumala ang ginagawa doon kung saan sayang ang pera ng gobyerno na binabayaran sa contractors na di naman tama at kulang-kulang kasi panambak, hindi talaga slope protection,” dagdag niya.
Ani Lacson, ibinigay ni Dizon ang katiyakang ito nang mag-usap sila nitong Huwebes upang talakayin ang naturang usapin. Dagdag niya, ipinakikita ng kanilang mga natuklasan sa ngayon na umaabot sa hindi bababa sa 85 ektarya ang saklaw ng reclamation activities.
Nauna nang ipinunto ni Lacson na lahat ng unpermitted reclaimed area sa Taguig ay maaaring mapasailalim sa forfeiture, pag-aari man ang mga ito ng lokal na pamahalaan o ng mga pribadong indibidwal o entidad.
“Ang nakasaad sa batas void ab initio ang inyong reclamation. From the very beginning di nyo pwedeng i-cure yan kasi di ka kumuha ng permit nagtambak ka,” aniya.
Itinuro rin ni Lacson na bukod sa kinasasangkutan ng ghost slope protection at flood mitigation projects, maaaring makasama sa kapaligiran ang reclamation activities dahil kabilang dito ang pagtatambak sa Laguna Lake ng mga basurang dapat sana ay dinadala sa Rizal provincial sanitary landfill.
“Hindi pwede yan kasi kung tinambakan nyo ng basura at yan pina-landfill ninyo e bukod sa sira na ang lake, hindi matibay ang pantambak ninyo. Walang nangyari kasi naha-harass,” aniya.
Samantala, sinabi ni Lacson na kumpiyansa siya at ng kanyang mga tauhan sa ebidensiyang isinumite nila sa Office of the Ombudsman hinggil sa mga ghost project sa Taguig City, at inilarawan ang mga ito bilang “glaring.”
Dagdag niya, bineberipika na nila ngayon ang mga title number na sumasaklaw sa ilan sa mga lupang sangkot sa reclamation projects. Bagama’t ipinakikita ng mga title number na pag-aari ng mga pribadong mamamayan ang mga lupa, sinabi ni Lacson na sinusuri nila kung paano inisyu ang mga titulo at kung maaaring nakuha ang mga ito sa pamamagitan ng pandaraya.
“Maraming nagbebenta diyan, may fake, may kung anu-anong titulo. Vine-vet namin ngayon ang hawak naming title numbers para malaman anong pinaguugatan, paano nagkatitulo ang Laguna Lake at reclamation na ang balatkayo niya slope protection,” aniya.
“Ito ang issue na nakapaloob diyan. Na-complicate ng na-complicate dahil walang ginawa si Sen. Alan Cayetano kundi mag-Facebook. Tira ng tira sa halip na i-defend ang turf at sagutin nang diretsahan he resorted to name calling kung anong issue binabato niya. So yan ang kinalabasan ngayon. Nagulat ako kasi akala ko Bulacan ang microcosm na nag-represent ng flood control. Yung Taguig is really something else as we discovered. Ibang antas,” dagdag niya.
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