DENR seeking budget of R27 billion in 2018

With a new leader on board, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to propose a lower budget of R27 billion for next year, which it will mostly use for the implementation of environmental laws as well as the National Greening Program (NGP).

DENR Undersecretary Demetrio Ignacio said in a text message that the agency’s 2018 proposed budget stood around

R27.1 billion, which is lower than the R29-billion fund that was granted to it this year.

When asked if the agency’s budget for this year is underutilized, Ignacio only said “our budget is not based on our financial performance.”

The DENR is set to presented in Congress its budget proposal for next year.

One of the agency’s priority programs in the next years to come still includes NGP, which is a six-year massive forest rehabilitation program that aimed to cover 1.5 million hectares of degraded forestland with trees supposedly by the end of 2016.

But this project was later on extended until 2028 through an executive order issued in November 2015 in a bid to rehabilitate additional 7.1 million hectares of forestland.

Climate change initiatives will also take up some of DENR’s budget.

All of this, as Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu vowed to prioritize environmental protection through full implementation of existing laws on clean air, clean water and solid waste management.

“My main effort will be protecting the environment and implementing laws, such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act,” Cimatu said earlier.

The former military chief said he would work towards improving air quality in the country, particularly in Metro Manila.