By CESAR JOLITO III

The Regional Trial Court (RTC) has found an engineer in Bacolod City guilty of illegally cutting mangroves and reclaiming land along the Sum-ag River in Barangay Pahanocoy to develop his private resort.

Engineer Andres Tacolod was guilty of violating Section 68 of Presidential Decree 705 (Revised Forestry Code) and Section 94 of Republic Act 8550 (Philippine Fisheries Code), the RTC said.

The court ruled that Tacolod’s resort construction destroyed vital mangrove areas, a natural buffer against flooding and a breeding ground for marine life.

Tacolod faces imprisonment ranging from two years and four months to seven years and four months for the forestry violation, and an additional six months to two years and four months plus an P80,000 fine for the fisheries offense.

In addition, the court ordered him to shoulder the cost of environmental rehabilitation.

The court said Tacolod must pay damages for the 2,000-square-meter mangrove area destroyed, computed at P500,000 per hectare annually, until the ecosystem is fully restored.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Community Environment and Natural Resources Office has been tasked to lead the restoration and submit status reports to the court every six months.

Sum-ag Barangay Captain Rodney Carmona welcomed the ruling, saying it was a victory for the community’s fight to protect their river and coastal resources.

He also thanked their legal counsel, Atty. Mark Mayo, for pursuing the case.

Environmental groups have long raised concerns about the destruction of mangroves in Bacolod, warning that unchecked reclamation projects could worsen flooding and deplete marine resources./CJ, WDJ