THE New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project (NCWS KDP) has been proceeding despite the failure of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to comply with environmental guidelines.
In the 2020 report on the MWSS released last September 7, the Commission on Audit said the Kaliwa Dam Project has not completed its application for mandatory permits from various government agencies, a condition set with the issuance of an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).
Records showed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued the ECC on October 11, 2019.
However, the audit team said MWSS failed to submit proof that it has complied with the conditions and restrictions set in the ECC.
The MWSS submitted some documents on May 20, 2021, but these were not the ones required by the DENR rules.
“(MWSS) management simply provided a checklist or a compliance monitoring report (CMR) without any supporting document (e.g. permits) to show compliance with the ECC,” auditors noted.
Among the requirements are duly signed memoranda of agreement (MOA) with affected local government units within six month upon issuance of the ECC, an Indigenous Peoples Development Plan duly approved by the National Commission in Indigenous People (NCIP), establishment of a program for reforestation and carbon sink mechanisms to offset greenhouse gases, a detailed waste management program, a comprehensive inventory and assessment of threatened species that may be affected by clearing operations, and the creation of a Multipartite Monitoring Team to oversee the project and ascertain observance of all environmental policies.
The COA said most of these requirements even required prior submission to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-Central Office within six months to one year of receipt of the ECC.
