Batangas mayor, construction firm tussle over environmental compliance, corruption issues

The municipal government of Lobo, Batangas is in a brawl with the Efren Ramirez Construction and General Services Corporation over environmental complaints and corruption issues concerning an irrigation project in the area.

In a complaint letter addressed to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Lobo Mayor Lota Manalo accused the ERCGSC of committing at least nine violations that warranted the revocation of its Industrial Sand and Gravel permit and Mineral Processing Permit.

Manalo said seven Lobo villages signed a memorandum of agreement with ERCGSC in 2012, permitting the company to dredge the Lobo River as part of an irrigation project in the area.

In its defense, ERCGSC said Manalo's move was only a retaliation to their complaints filed before the Office of the Ombudsman "for criminal violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act."

"The Lobo Mayor has since been fixated on harassing the operations of ERCGSC after the latter claimed in its complaint before the Ombudsman that it refused to heed Mayor Manalo's demand for grease money, the firm said in a statement.

"The mayor has since unjustifiably denied the renewal of the firm's business permit despite being in operation for over a decade in the municipality employing hundreds of its citizens and assisting in the development of the communities where it does business," it added.

In the complaint, the Lobo executive chief underscored that the Barangay Nagtaluntong was excluded from the project in 2017 "to prevent damage in the water intake facility in the area."

According to the complaint, the ERCGSC continued the dredging in the area despite the suspension of its ISAG permit. It further accused the firm of extracting river materials within 1 kilometer of the water reservoir, "resulting in damage to National Irrigation Administration infrastructure."

"We would like to respectfully request for the immediate revocation of all ISAG permits and mineral Processing Permits issued to ERCGSC," the complaint stated.

But the ERCGSC refuted Manalo's complaint.

It then insisted that Manalo's latest calls for the DENR to investigate ERCGSC's operations "is part of an elaborate scheme to beleaguer the corporation."

"Instead of wasting its efforts to close down an otherwise legal entity conducting lawful river dredging operations, ERCGSC calls on the mayor to focus on ridding the municipality of illegal activities as the National Bureau of Investigation and the DENR recently raided an illegal quarry in Barangay Sawang, Lobo, Batangas which surprisingly has evaded the attention and action of the mayor," the ERCGSC said.

Despite its ongoing rebuttal with the Lobo LGU, ERCGSC has vowed "to follow the rule of law and to exert all legal remedies necessary to be able to continue to provide livelihood to its workers."

The company said it will continue to "give back" what it owes to the communities for helping them achieve a status as "one of the top business establishments in the municipality and the province as well."