Because of the Philippines’ infrastructure deficit, there is often an assumption that all new roads are good and that more roads are desirable. Not true. Some roads bring considerable harm. My guest columnist, distinguished urban planner Nathaniel von Einsidel, explains why. Von Einsiedel is a fellow emeritus of the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners and principal urban planner of Concep Inc.
ON a recent trip to inspect a friend’s newly purchased property in Lipa City, I was horrified by the sight of a wide four-lane highway that zigzagged through Mount Malarayat, cutting across a wide swath of the dense forest. I was told the road was part of the Lipa-Tiaong Bypass Road. As we drove through the winding highway lined with lush vegetation on both sides, I wondered whether the project secured the necessary environmental compliance certificate (ECC) considering its serious impact on the natural environment.
I later learned that the road is part of the government’s Build Better More program, which comprises about 250 projects with 167 managed by the national government. Over the last five years, the Department of Public Works and Highways completed 29,264 kilometers (km) of roads and bridges, composed of 1,376 km of missing links, 1,470 km of bypasses/diversion roads and 2,025 farm-to-market roads.
Some of the major tollway projects include the Southern Access Link Expressway, an elevated expressway connecting the Metro Manila Skyway to Roxas Boulevard, and North Luzon East Expressway, a 136-km road to connect Metro Manila with Central Luzon. The government projects that the nationwide transport and infrastructure output will grow significantly as public and private investments continue to scale up.
This seriously worries me. The construction and improvement of roads of all types leads to significant loss or degradation of natural habitats. As a result, road projects frequently pose conflicts with biodiversity conservation objectives. The challenge for the government agencies that plan, build and maintain roads is to reconcile the improvement of transportation infrastructure with the need to avoid serious damage to natural habitats and biodiversity.
Under the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System, established under Presidential Decree 1586, major transport infrastructure projects like expressways and toll roads are legally mandated to secure an ECC before any physical construction can begin. To obtain the ECC, developers must submit a comprehensive environmental impact statement (EIS), which maps out predicted environmental degradation (such as tree loss, soil erosion, or siltation) and provide an actionable environmental management plan to mitigate those impacts.
An ECC is not a stand-alone construction permit; it serves as a green light, confirming that the proponent has committed to environmental safeguards. It triggers processing of other mandatory permits, such as a clearance from the Protected Area Management Board even before the processing of the ECC application and tree-cutting permits for roads cutting through forested mountainous terrain or areas with mature trees.
While the law is absolute on paper, the implementation of new roadways or expansions often encounters friction between rapid development timelines and environmental protection. Specifically, in the case of extensions of existing toll roads, an approval of the toll road extension is given by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and a notice of award (NOA) is given before an ECC is issued; the ECC is not required prior to the TRB approval. With a NOA, the proponent is “encouraged” to proceed with the project even without having conducted the EIS, which often results in environmental damage and loss of biodiversity.
In considering the adverse impacts of road works (construction, improvement, rehabilitation and maintenance) on biodiversity and how to avoid or mitigate them, it is useful to distinguish between direct and induced (indirect) impacts. Direct impacts are the effects of road works themselves on natural habitats. Induced impacts are the result of those human activities which road construction or improvements make possible, rather than the road works themselves. In most cases, the induced impacts of road works on biodiversity are more serious and more difficult to control than the direct impacts.
Given this, it is critical that an EIS is undertaken when the project is still at the conceptual stage and that an ECC be made a mandatory prerequisite of any approval or notice of award.