WHAT has been hailed in some international circles as a model of conservation is now deeply embroiled in an escalating legal battle between the national government and a private construction company whose officers overlap the conservators behind the acclaimed Masungi Georeserve.
Blue Star Construction and Development Corp. (BSCDC), the construction company behind the alleged resort built in the environmentally protected Upper Marikina River Basin in Rizal Province, is charging the government P1.166 billion supposedly for its failure to deliver lands in a state-owned territory.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) revealed in a statement on April 20 that it received the latest statement of account dated April 11, 2024 from BSCDC, citing expenditures it incurred from the “unrealized delivery” by the agency of a 10-hectare parcel of land allocated for the National Bilibid Prisons under the Presidential Proclamation 1158 signed on September 8, 2006.
The total expenses to date, per the billing, included legal, security, and miscellaneous expenses amounting to P11,200; damages due to delay of the delivery of the lot worth P17,389,006; and even a P100,000 monthly rental paid to a “professional squatter.” The statement also showed the costs were incurred beginning in June 2018.
According to BSCDC, it has no choice but to submit a monthly account of said expenses to push the DENR to do its contractual obligations under their joint venture agreement (JVA) and to prevent unnecessary expenses which will ultimately end up as cost to the government.
Such billings of BSCDC, however, are without legal basis, per the DENR Investigation Committee formed in 2019 to look into the said contracts.
“The contracts entered into by BSCDC [Blue Star] had legal infirmities ranging from unlawful excise of land for housing purposes in a National Park to award of contracts without bidding,” it stated.
The 2017 MOA
BSCDC’s disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that Ben Dumaliang, Ann Adeline Dumaliang, and Billy Crystal Dumaliang are among the company’s key officers and stockholders.
They are involved in a series of questioned contracts with the DENR—the most recent of which is the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the late Environment Secretary Gina Lopez with Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc. (MGFI) on April 25, 2017 for the protection of the nature reserve and wildlife sanctuary covering 2,700 hectares in the city of Antipolo and the towns of Baras, Tanay, Rodriguez, and San Mateo, all in Rizal.
The pact gave the MGFI a “perpetual land trust” over the area which is now a resort referred to as Masungi Georeserve, whose key officers and trustees are also the Dumaliangs mentioned above.
However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) deemed void ab initio their MOA with the late Secretary Lopez. Based on its Position Paper dated February 15, 2023 addressed to the House Committee on Natural Resources via Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, Jr. that probed the alleged irregularities in Masungi, the DOJ said the MOA violated the Constitution.
The DENR investigative team, on the other hand, cited several offenses by the foundation, such as no clearances from the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), no free and prior consent from the ancestral domain owners and the National Commission for Indigenous People (NCIP), no Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC), and no accreditation from the Department of Tourism.
Masungi conservators respond
Reacting to these, the MGFI underscored that the 2017 MOA must be strengthened, not undermined, because it paved the way to a pioneering public-private partnership on conservation that must be replicated and scaled nationwide given the country’s dire environmental situation.
It said the pact’s provision that “the parties intend to constitute the project area as a perpetual land trust for conservation, subject to law” is intentionally being muddled by the DENR to make it look like MGFI has been granted a gift of land forever. The Foundation said this is “completely false” and the provision itself says it is subject to law, and MGFI knows it can only conserve the area for as long as the law and constitution allows.
As to the DOJ’s stand, it said the agency’s initial opinion on constitutionality is confined to this specific provision and has no effect on the constitutionality of the whole agreement. MGFI has written the DOJ to reconsider its initial opinion given more complete information.
It noted that only the courts can declare an agreement void ab initio. Until a final decision is made by the court, the MOA remains valid and binding upon parties and the DENR must uphold its obligations under it, which is to implement environmental laws and assist MGFI in its Unesco Geopark Application and necessary permits.
The Foundation believes that the DENR is doing a misplaced and vicious—yet unfounded—character assassination against Masungi but is not saying anything to contradict despoilers who are the real enemies of the environment. It said the agency is blowing out of proportion a debatable alleged constitutional conflict which can be resolved faster if needed simply by coming to the table for cooperation like true partners do.
Masungi Georeserve
THE Masungi Georeserve resort forms part of the Upper Marikina River Basin Watershed covering 27,980 hectares in Rizal province declared by executive order of the American governor general in 1904. Since then, it has been covered by several presidential proclamations, republic acts, and administrative orders.
A JVA was entered into by BSCDC with the DENR in 1997 for the development and operation of Garden Cottages. In 2002, an additional area of 300 hectares was added to the JVA via a Supplemental Agreement. A MOA in 2008 followed aimed at offseting the houses already built by Blue Star in Dasmariñas, Cavite, from the agreed 5,000-unit Garden Cottages intended in Rizal Province.
Contrary to the DENR’s assertions, the JVA was won by BSCDC through a public bidding process initiated by the government. The project is governed by a complete Terms of References, created by the DENR, which guides the implementation and revenue-sharing scheme with the government.
The Masungi Georeserve resort boasts of tourists trek to caves, stone formations and trails, rope bridges, and a spider web-like elevated platform that gives a 360-degree view of the Sierra Madre mountain range.
DENR notes that this tourist spot collects entrance fees from visitors (P1,500 per person on weekdays and P1,800 on weekends); has a restaurant and accommodations priced from P5,000 a night; and hosts weddings and company events at rates starting from P120,000.
“We dare the DENR Secretary to come with the media to the site on April 22 or any day of her convenience to show to the public where the alleged hotel, swimming pool, and resort are in Masungi Georeserve and to substantiate her false and unfounded allegations against Masungi and Blue Star,” MGFI President Ben Dumaliang said of the DENR’s statement. “If she cannot come and substantiate her resort claims and other allegations, then she should resign. The office of DENR Secretary is crucial to the future of our nation and it must have the highest integrity.”
Image credits: Namhwi Kim | Dreamstime.com