Candoni: The cease-and-desist order (CDO) issued to Hacienda Asia Plantations Inc. (HAPI) in June for the construction of a five-hectare oil palm plantation in Candoni, Negros Occidental, remains in effect, as confirmed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau in the Negros Island Region (DENR-EMB NIR).

According to Philippines News Agency, OIC-Regional Director Vicente Losba±es communicated this decision in letters dated August 15 and 18 to HAPI’s resident manager Felix Occe±a Jr., rejecting HAPI’s request to lift the CDO. The civil society organization, Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment (NICE), obtained copies of these letters. The CDO, initially issued due to the lack of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC), halted HAPI’s quarry operations and earth-moving activities on June 5.

NICE secretary general Joshua Villalobos, during a public forum on Tuesday, shared updates from the EMB, as presented by DENR-NIR Assistant Regional Director Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya, regarding the social and environmental impacts of the proposed oil palm plantation. Losba±es, in his first letter, informed Occe±a that HAPI’s ECC application remains in its initial phase despite public and technical scoping activities conducted on July 3. He emphasized that merely filing an application does not permit project implementation.

Losba±es underlined that the CDO, issued by EMB Region VI on June 5, 2025, remains in effect until formally revoked or lifted, and the required ECC is secured. In a subsequent communication, he reiterated that the CDO will only be lifted upon filing a motion and securing the ECC. He directed the suspension of all activities pending compliance with these requirements and warned against any premature activity.

In response, NICE called for the cancellation of the integrated forest management agreement between the DENR and HAPI. Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, NICE wisdom council chair and Diocese of San Carlos, stated that from a civil society perspective, this represents environmental injustice, highlighting issues such as poisoned waters, lost biodiversity, and deepening poverty. He added that destroying Candoni’s grasslands harms God’s creation and future generations.

NICE has linked the proposed 6,652-hectare oil palm plantation project in the villages of Gatuslao and Agboy to violations of environmental laws, destruction of local livelihoods, encroachment on indigenous territories, and displacement of community members.