A MILKING cow ever since. This was how Senator Erwin Tulfo described the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as he assailed its ‘apparent negligence in implementing measures to prevent the destruction of the environment.’
“They’re not doing their job. They cannot even answer the questions raised before their agency. Why will we fund an agency, 27 billion pesos, when they cannot even do their jobs? They’re using the agency as a milking cow, ever since,” Sen. Erwin said during the Senate plenary deliberations of the DENR’s proposed 2026 budget.
During his interpellations, Tulfo raised several environmental issues across the country that demonstrate the government’s negligence in preventing harmful activities such as logging, mining and the construction of illegal infrastructure in protected areas.
Sen. Erwin backed his claims with videos and photos of the actual sites of destroyed natural resources in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur; Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan; Gutalac, Zamboanga del Norte and the Sierra Madre mountain ranges, among others.
Notably, when these issues were raised, the DENR remained silent or failed to provide the Senator with clear answers.
Senator Loren Legarda, who was defending the agency’s budget, shared her frustration over the DENR’s lack of action and proactiveness: “I cannot defend and answer that, and I hope I am the one asking questions because this is difficult to defend. I have no answers; I will not invent answers. I am even more frustrated than you.”
It can be recalled that, as soon as the Senate Session resumed after the onslaught of recent typhoons, Sen. Erwin Tulfo delivered a privilege speech calling out the agency for accountability and seeking protection of the Sierra Madre Mountains.
“The Sierra Madre has saved Luzon countless times — from Typhoon Yolanda, Rolly, Paeng, and now Uwan. But who will save the Sierra Madre? It cannot speak for itself. It cannot march to this hall. It cannot plead for mercy against bulldozers and chainsaws. It relies on us — the people’s representatives — to give it voice and legal protection,” he declared in his speech.
In concluding his interpellation on the 2026 DENR Budget, Tulfo said: “I hope, Mr. President, dear colleagues, it is not too late. Compassion is what we need to save this nation, to save our environment.”
