BACOLOD CITY — The Catholic Church and several civil society groups are urging the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to revoke its forest management agreement with Hacienda Asia Plantation Inc. (HAPI) in Candoni, Negros Occidental, citing violations of environmental laws and threats to indigenous peoples (IPs).

San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza warned that the project “poisons waters, destroys biodiversity and deepens poverty,” while displacing IP communities. Tribal leader Tony Condez said bulldozing has already encroached on ancestral burial grounds and pressed the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to expedite their ancestral domain title.

HAPI, a joint venture of Sirawai Plywood and Alfred Joseph Araneta, was granted a 25-year Integrated Forest Management Agreement in 2009 covering 6,600 hectares, more than half inhabited by IPs.

A DENR monitoring team earlier reported soil erosion, poor waste management, and destructive earth-moving, recommending a cease-and-desist order. Officials said HAPI still lacks an Environmental Compliance Certificate and failed to secure Free, Prior and Informed Consent from affected IPs.

The Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation also warned the project endangers ecologically important grasslands that host endemic bats and other species.