Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan pressed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to stringently implement environmental regulations and clearance processes governing land conversion, mining, quarrying, and land reclamation to mitigate worsening nationwide flood crises.
The lawmaker cautioned that reckless developmental projects exacerbate flood risks already magnified by heavy downpours and expanding urban areas, stressing that regulatory agencies must actively defend natural ecosystems.
“The impact on floods is compounded by the layer upon layer of permits of reclamation. Environmental permits are not licenses for floods to afflict the present and future generations,” Pangilinan said.
“The DENR’s duty does not end with processing permits. The department’s mandate is to protect and preserve the ecosystems that protect and sustain us,” he added.
Addressing the combined repercussions of severe weather, deteriorating watersheds, river obstruction, and coastal development, the senator pointed out that natural water flows ignore administrative and project boundaries.
“As I said, water has no recognized political or project boundaries. And it also does not recognize environmental compliance certificates (ECCs),” he remarked.
“That is why the DENR must look at the entire watershed, from mountains and rivers to cities and Manila Bay, before allowing projects that permanently alter the flow of water,” he added.
Referencing environmental assessments by the DENR that highlighted potential discharge bottlenecks into Manila Bay caused by coastal reclamation, Pangilinan highlighted how unmanaged urbanization and paved surfaces impair natural drainage.
To address this, he urged environmental authorities to establish off-limit zones across vital wetlands, floodways, river margins, and critical watersheds, while calling for mandatory cumulative impact assessments and the immediate cancellation of permits when regulatory violations occur.
“We cannot keep engineering our way out of floods while approving developments that remove the very forests, wetlands, flood plains, and waterways that absorb and carry water,” he emphasized.
“Development must work with nature, not force present and future generations to suffer and pay for destroying it,” he reiterated.
Pangilinan confirmed that he plans to examine these regulatory and environmental protection issues during upcoming legislative hearings for the proposed ₱7.2-trillion national budget.
“In the upcoming budget deliberations, we will also look at whether the DENR is spending properly on anti-pollution laws such as Clean Air, Clean Water, Solid Waste Management and this Extended Producer Responsibility, to protect our natural resources,” Pangilinan concluded.