After two Negros Occidental Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) officials were recently brought up on administrative charges before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas, the DENR-Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) recently affirmed their commitment to enforcing environmental law.

After PENRO Edgardo Rostata, along with Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) and Protected Area Superintendent Concordio Remoroza, were accused of failing to deal with the proliferation of illegal structures within the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP), the provincial agency put out a press release, pointing out the “complicated” landscape of the NNNP.

According to the release, the area, which includes the entirety of Don Salvador Benedicto, “poses an enormous challenge in terms of policy implementation and law enforcement.”

The case, filed by Green Alert Network (GAN), noted, between 2014 and 2016, Remoroza issued cease and desist orders to the owners of 94 illegal structures in the NNNP, but claimed neither of the accused took action.

The PENRO release also spoke on the matter of cease and desist orders, saying they are part of their guidelines for administrative proceedings and called them “a realistic and pragmatic solution to this continued concern on illegal structures.”

In their case, GAN claimed Rostata, Remoroza, along with several “John Does,” acted in violation of RA 7586, the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act, and RA 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act./PLL, WDJ