Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Jose Atienza said his department will take control of the Subic Economic Freeport Zone following controversies that have put into question the ability of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to enforce environmental laws within the former naval facility.

?We need environmental accountability in Subic,? Atienza said at a press conference in his office a day after revoking the memorandum of agreement with SBMA. ?From now on, all applications for environmental compliance certificates of companies doing business in the former US naval base will be approved by the DENR.?

Atienza also withdrew the authority delegated to the SBMA to issue environment clearance certificates.

The DENR will now monitor the compliance of establishments issued with ECCs to ensure ecological balance in Subic whose virgin forests and unpolluted waters make it a priority area for ecological governance.

Atienza made the announcement after he sent SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza a letter informing him of the department?s decision to revoke a 2006 agreement, which allowed the agency to issue environmental permits and clearances.

Arreza, for his part, vowed to cooperate with the Environment Department. ?The SBMA will cooperate fully with the department in ensuring environmental compliance within the freeport.?

Arreza reiterated that the SBMA remains committed to the protection of the environment and will seek Atienza?s reconsideration of his order.

Arreza said the SBMA likewise ?welcomes the DENR?s stepping into the picture, as this would help us in making sure that Subic?s environment is preserved amid all the development that is taking place in the freeport.?

Arreza said ?this will also be an opportunity for us to clear ourselves of the negative insinuations levied against us.

Arreza assured the public that all 366 trees at the project site ?remains intact to this day.?

Invoking his mandate, Atienza said: ?As directed by President Arroyo, the program of defending existing forest cover through massive reforestation must be pursued even stronger and therefore, starting this year there will be no more tree-cutting activities that will happen in any part of the country.?

Since last year, the SBMA has been besieged by protests from environmentalists who denounced rampant tree cutting and other alleged offenses, especially in the area where a shipbuilder operates and in another where a hotel-casino is being built.

Atienza pointed out that Subic economic zone falls under a protected area that has rich forest cover and high in biodiversity. Cecille Garcia