Environmental Movements in the Philippines

In August 1996, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through its review committee reaffirmed an earlier decision to deny the application of the Pangasinan Cement Corporation (PCC) for an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to build a giant cement plant, worth 1.3 billion pesos ($50 million), in the coastal town of Bolinao, Pangasinan, in the northwestern part of the Philippines. An earlier attempt by the PCC to acquire official approval for the project failed when the DENR in October 1995 ruled against the construction of the plant due to unresolved issues pertaining to land use, social acceptability, and pollution mitigation. The government’s decision came on the heels of a vigorous campaign by environmental activists to mobilize public sentiment against the cement complex on grounds that its construction will not only foster marine destruction, biodiversity loss, river siltation, and geological disturbances, but will threaten as well the health and security of local residents.