Candoni Mayor Orders Palm Oil Operations Suspended

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY – The mayor of Candoni town in southern Negros Occidental has issued a final notice ordering the suspension of operations of a palm oil plantation unless it secures an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

In a letter dated June 12, 2025, Mayor Ray Ruiz directed Alfred Joseph Araneta, chief executive officer of Hacienda Asia Plantation Inc. (HAPI), to immediately comply with environmental recommendations and cease all earth-moving operations within Candoni.

“This communication serves as a final and formal demand for your company’s immediate compliance with the environmental recommendations and cease-and-desist instructions issued by the Multi-Partite Monitoring Team (MMT) and the Office of the Provincial Governor of Negros Occidental,” Ruiz wrote.

He stated that HAPI, which reportedly operates 6,652.32 hectares in Barangays Gatuslao and Agboy under Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) No. 04-2009, with a Comprehensive Development Management Plan approved on April 28, 2021, has repeatedly violated environmental laws and local agreements.

Ruiz cited the following alleged violations:

1. Failure to obtain an ECC and comply with its Comprehensive Development Management Plan, resulting in environmental degradation and soil erosion.
2. Unauthorized earth-moving activities, including dumping soil on public roads and excavating near riparian zones, causing heavy siltation in local waterways.
3. Destruction of native flora within forest-classified lands, in violation of legal and ethical obligations under the IFMA.

“These actions have become the subject of viral public concern, fueled by online videos and citizen complaints,” Ruiz said.

He reiterated that the MMT had previously ordered HAPI to halt all construction, extraction, and earth-moving activities.

Ruiz added that despite multiple meetings, letters, and official interventions, HAPI continues to ignore directives, evade accountability, and disregard local requirements, including obtaining an ECC and submitting required plans.

He noted that on June 5, 2025, the Office of the Provincial Governor sent a follow-up letter to HAPI, directing a temporary halt to earth-moving activities in the IFMA area based on the MMT’s report.

“We now make it absolutely clear: This is your final notice,” Ruiz emphasized in his letter, a copy of which was released to the media on Friday.

He said he once viewed HAPI as a potential partner in sustainable development for Candoni.

“It is with deep frustration and grievance that I now witness how your operations have become a divisive force, causing tensions and baseless accusations against this office—accusations rooted in the erosion of public trust caused by your conduct,” he said.

“You have betrayed the confidence once extended in good faith,” Ruiz added.

“I urge you—before irreversible consequences follow—to make amends, comply, and restore accountability to your name.”