Villars’ clout blinded DENR?

A resort owner under fire for the recurring floods in four subdivisions in Parañaque City maintained yesterday that the real estate company of former Senate President Manny Villar and Senator Cynthia Villar is to blame.

As subdivision residents slammed his Wing-An Garden Resort for "encroaching" on the Baloc-Baloc Creek, engineer Selwyn Lao hinted that government agencies may have sat on issues he had raised against the Villars because of their economic and political clout.

Lao maintained that the creek near his resort was a man-made waterway constructed to take the place of the real creek that the Villars allegedly reclaimed and turned into subdivision lots at their Camella Classic Homes, or CCH.

"Why is it that in my years of communicating with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, they have not taken any action on this issue, not even one step," Lao told DAILY TRIBUNE.

"If they are true to their work, they should be concerned because that is their mandate. So, how come no action was taken at all?" he asked.

A civil engineer who owns a construction firm based in Pasig City, Lao maintained that he is "really the victim" because he was unable to develop his land for 20 years because the boundaries could not be established.

Lao pointed at a possible collusion between government officials and the Villars.

"It's not that easy to title a creek, but from what I saw, it was very simple — the process they made was very easy. So, it's possible the DENR was involved here," he added.

"The (Baloc-Baloc) creek, people have told me, is not the real creek because the real creek was acquired by former Senate President Manny Villar under his name and turned into a road and subdivision lots," he said.

Face Villar

A CCH resident said Lao should take his fight directly to the Villars and not the residents of the four subdivisions affected by his resort.

She agreed with Lao that the city government of Parañaque and the DENR had turned a deaf ear to their complaints about the flooding at CCH and Multinational Village, as well as two other subdivisions, Verdant and "another one" in C4 she did not name.

She said the flooding in their areas was directly connected to Lao's resort which reduced the width of Baloc-Baloc Creek while clogging it with debris that the residents tried to remove last Sunday.

"Our homeowners association president, Mr. Floro Bongga, had asked for help from the mayor's office, the last time was in January 2023. Also, the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) and the DENR, but up to now, they've only conducted an ocular inspection of the resort and the creek, and nothing happened," she said.

She added that it was better when an issue was raised against Lao over his construction firm in Pasig City because Mayor Vico Sotto confronted the engineer in an incident caught on video that had gone viral.

 No action

"But our mayor (Eric Olivarez) is not lifting a finger to address the complaint of the village residents that are affected by the flooding," she said, adding that even during their cleanup on Sunday no one from the city hall appeared.

Their problem started in 2011 when Lao started to build his resort by putting in materials that affected the size of the creek, preventing the free flow of water during heavy rains, she claimed.

She said that she grew up in the area and that 34 years ago, when CCH was newly built, the creek was wide until Lao allegedly started to put in earth and stone.

She challenged Lao to show his title over the creek and to back his claim that the Villars should be held to account for the flooding as the developer of the subdivision.

"If he has a problem with the Villars, he should go against them and not do things that affect the situation of the residents in the area. Let him face Mr. Villar and don't quarrel with the residents who just want to live comfortably," she added.

She said Bongga is open to an agreement with Lao and the city government to once and for all address the matter.

Answerable

Sought for a reaction by DAILY TRIBUNE, a DENR official said Lao will be answerable to environmental laws if the same had been violated.

DENR Undersecretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the case of the Wing-An Garden Resort has been referred to their legal department for appropriate actions.

"Of course, he (Lao) will also be given due process and our team will conduct a thorough probe, ocular inspections etc., things like that," Cuna said.

Asked if  creeks and rivers could be taken over by private individuals, Cuna said, "No, they are not for sale. Creeks and rivers are public dominion and cannot be appropriated or owned by an individual," the DENR official explained.