Group urges Legarda to act on Antique environmental violations

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

An environmental alliance in Antique has called on Sen. Loren Legarda to break what it describes as her “continued silence” on alleged widespread ecological damage linked to government infrastructure projects in her home province.

In an open letter dated Dec. 4, Amlig Alliance Antique said it has repeatedly sought Legarda’s response to alleged violations of multiple environmental laws through mountain roadworks and coastal construction across the province.

The group said it reached out through formal letters and protest actions on Sept. 21 and Nov. 30 at the EBJ Freedom Park but received no reply.

“Your silence is no longer neutral. It has become the loudest permission slip for the ongoing plunder of our province,” the group said.

Legarda served as legislator for Antique’s lone district from 2019 to 2022.

Amlig cited several Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects it considers problematic, including the Panay East-West Link Road (PEWLR) in Valderrama, mountain routes in Laua-an, the Bugo–General Fullon Road in San Remigio, and the Pandan–Ibajay, Aklan link.

The alliance said these roadworks allegedly cut through primary forests and Indigenous lands without the required environmental permits.

In October, the Environmental Management Bureau in Western Visayas (EMB-6) flagged five government road projects in Laua-an undertaken by Sunwest Inc. for lacking an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

EMB-6 also revoked the ECC and Certificate of Non-Coverage earlier issued for five sections of the PEWLR after finding a misdeclaration of project length in Environmental Impact Assessment documents.

Amlig also raised concerns about the San Jose Esplanade Seawall Coastal Road and the Bugasong “Turtle Boulevard,” which it claims have damaged coral reefs, seagrass beds, and sea turtle nesting areas.

“These are not anonymous projects. Many of them carry your public endorsement. In our political system, no multi-billion-peso DPWH project in a senator’s home province moves without the senator’s blessing, or at the very least, without the senator’s deliberate silence,” the group said.

“That is why your absence from the fight today, even after two people’s protests, feels like betrayal,” it added.

Legacy at stake

Amlig invoked Legarda’s long-standing reputation as an environmental advocate, noting that she authored major environmental and disaster risk laws but has not spoken publicly about alleged violations occurring in her own province.

Legarda principally authored Republic Act 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2001), Republic Act 9729 (Climate Change Act of 2009), Republic Act 10121 (Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010), and Republic Act 11038 (Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018).

“Your legacy is being used as a shield by the same forces destroying the province you claim to love. History will not judge you by the number of laws you wrote, but by whether you had the courage to defend those laws when they were broken in your own backyard,” the alliance said.

Amlig issued specific demands to Legarda, foremost of which is a public condemnation of the projects and a call for accountability.

Among their requests are:

• Inclusion of all DPWH projects in Antique from 2016 onward in the ongoing Senate Blue Ribbon investigation;
• An independent environmental impact audit with experts and regulators;
• Immediate suspension of projects lacking environmental compliance certificates and other required permits;
• Blacklisting of contractors found to have violated regulations; and
• Redirecting part of Antique’s 2026–2027 infrastructure budget toward ecosystem-based flood mitigation and watershed rehabilitation.