THE construction of a new road linking Pangasinan to Zambales through Aguilar and Mangaterem towns has triggered a contentious row between the Department of Public Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The DENR has ordered the project contractor to stop working until it secures an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and Land Use with Tree Cutting Permit.

Officials of the DPWH district offices in Pangasinan, who plotted the highway, now claim the DENR is simply blocking the construction.

Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer Romeo Nalupa said the new road will cut across mountain a side where 283 trees in the Pangasinan side will be cut and that, he said, requires an ECC.

Asserting its power to protect the environment in that area, CENRO mobilized its forest rangers to monitor the construction and to prevent any earth-moving activity and the cutting of trees.

However, Nalupa fears that construction will continue as they do not have the manpower to monitor 24 hours a day.

“My men are there (watching the project) but they could not stay there 24 hours a day because the place is quite far,” said Nalupa.

Nalupa said his office was only performing its duty to protect the environment when it advised the contractor, Marcial Punzal, and the DPWH to first secure the ECC and the required permits before proceeding with the construction, but the two allegedly ignored him.

As far as the DENR is concerned, he added, it had done its part by conducting an inventory on the trees to be affected, including timber trees like lauaan, tanguili and miscellaneous tree species.

The new road is an old logging trail in the border of Pangasinan and Zambales, located within vast tracts of public domain which is being eyed as an alternate route between the two provinces.

The DPWH has not issued any official reaction to DENR’s complaint—LM

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