New Negros Occidental port built without DENR-approved foreshore lease agreement

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Manapla town Mayor Manuel Escalante III says the port’s owners need to present a DENR-approved foreshore lease agreement first before they could be allowed to operate

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – A new private port in Manapla town is now under scrutiny after it was revealed that the facility was built without a foreshore lease agreement document from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). A local official asserted that the port must secure the document before beginning operations.

The complaint for graft filed by a stevedoring and arrastre company against officials and employees of the Land Bank of the Philippines over the non-release of an approved P180‑million loan took an unexpected turn following revelations that the firm went ahead with constructing the port in Manapla town without the DENR-approved foreshore lease agreement.

The new Manapla port, owned by the Manapla Port Stevedoring and Arrastre (MPSA) Corporation, opened to the public on February 1 and was set to commence commercial roll-on/roll-off operations this April 1. 

Manapla Mayor Manuel Escalante III said the port’s owners need to present an approved FLA from the DENR first before the local government could allow their operations in the town. 

“As far as I am concerned, we would not allow anything in our town to operate illegally,” Escalante told Rappler on Wednesday, March 8.

On Wednesday, March 5, MPSA filed criminal and administrative complaints at the Ombudsman-Visayas against four Land Bank officials and employees. The firm’s lawyer, Rey Gorgonio, accused the bank officials of violating the anti-graft and corrupt practices act as well as conduct prejudicial to public interest. 

The four respondents are Land Bank assistant vice president Maria Luisita Chiu, vice president for Central Visayas Allan Bisnar, accountant Renato Brillantes, and loan officer Francisco Jubelag.

“What they did was evident bad faith,” said Gorgonio, alleging that the respondents sabotaged the process, resulting in the non-release of the approved P180-million loan.

He said a notice of loan approval was issued on October 23, 2023, and the notice subsequently expired without the loan being released.

It turned out, however, that the loan was not withheld because of MPSA’s failure to submit the required FLA from the DENR.

Negros Occidental Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office head Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya said documents to support MPSA’s FLA application have yet to be submitted to the DENR central office, a statement confirming that the port’s owner has no FLA yet.

MPSA applied to use a 47,168-square meter foreshore area in Barangay Punta Salong for the commercial port. 

The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Cadiz City has completed a public bidding for the FLA and forwarded documents to the PENRO. From the office, the documents would be sent to the DENR regional office in Iloilo for endorsement before transmission to the DENR central office in Manila. 

“It will take time so we have to wait,” Gerangaya said.

He said what MPSA has are provisional permits from the DENR, which are renewable on an annual basis and needed in the absence of an FLA. The provisional permits, he said, were secured by MPSA before it started the construction project. 

The firm has so far invested over P60 million for the port project. MPSA president Alfredo Luis Sarrosa said they were considering alternative financing options.

The new port, which would feature an adjacent yacht club, is seen to boost tourism between Negros and Panay Islands and strengthen the local sugar industry. 

The port intends to serve as a gateway to top Iloilo destinations, including Sicogon Island and Isla de Gigantes in Carles, and to Negros Occidental attractions such as Carbin Reef in Sagay and Lakawon Island Resort in Cadiz.

The port is also seen to ease sugarcane transport, and significantly reduce travel time. – Rappler.com