Cimatu lauds launch of PACC-led nat’l anti-corruption program photo from Leader News Philippines
Environment

Cimatu lauds launch of PACC-led nat’l anti-corruption program

Sep 12, 2021, 10:11 AM
Santiago Celario

Santiago Celario

Writer

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu hopes the newly-launched Project Kasangga will root out corruption within the Department of Environment and National Resources, which he says results in environmental crimes.

ENVIRONMENT Secretary Roy Cimatu has hailed the recent launch of a new program that will give the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) a big boost in enforcing environmental laws.

The Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and 49 state agencies including the DENR led the recent launch of the "Project Kasangga: Aksyon Kontra Korapsyon," creating anti-corruption coordinating councils (ACCC) within government offices and one at a national level chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The program is a holistic way of stamping out corruption in all levels of government and complements a task force led by the Department of Justice, according to the PACC.

The ACCCs will act as department-level committees to validate corruption reports and forward them to the national ACCC.

Cimatu said the initiative is especially vital in its mandate to combat environmental crimes as "corruption at the DENR unmistakably results in detrimental consequences that can last for generations in terms of individual health, public safety and economy."

"I prefer standing trees to apprehended illegally-cut ones which is why my marching order is to strengthen prevention of environmental crimes like illegal logging," Cimatu pointed out.

"While our emphasis is on prevention, enforcement and detection, approach should likewise play an important role through the creation of the Environmental Protection and Enforcement Bureau (EPEB) which will spearhead government’s efforts to bolster certainty of punishment," he added.

The proposed EPEB consolidates all enforcement functions and will institutionalize enforcement systems and strategies based on best practices and using the most advanced and reliable technologies.

"Project Kasangga has further highlighted the role of environmental law enforcers as key actors in fighting corruption," Cimatu said.

He also noted that the project underscores the urgency for the establishment of the EPEB as its passage into law is being sponsored both in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Two bills creating the EPEB have been filed at the Senate. These are Senate Bill Numbers 1878 and 1959 filed by Senators Nancy Binay and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., respectively.

At the House of Representatives, House Committee on Government Reorganization adopted House Bill (HB) 6973 filed by Deputy Speaker and Antique Rep. Loren Legarda.

The House panel has likewise agreed to consolidate three other EPEB bills into a substitute bill, namely HB 7873 filed by Deputy Speaker and South Cotabato Rep. Ferdinand L. Hernandez; HB 7670 filed by Ilocos Norte Rep. Angelo Marcos Barba; and HB 8028 filed by Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund "LRay” Villafuerte.

Tags: #DepartmentOfEnvironmentandNaturalResources, #anticorruption, #environmentalcrimes, #ProjectKasangga


We take a stand
OpinYon News logo

Designed and developed by Simmer Studios.

© 2024 OpinYon News. All rights reserved.