ANGELES CITY — First District Representative Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. has filed House Resolution No. 1489 urging the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to strictly protect legal easements along waterways and to stop issuing free patent titles on lands that encroach on them.
Lazatin filed the resolution on October 5, 2026, requesting the DENR to refrain from issuing favorable certifications for free-patent applications where technical and legal verification shows that the land, or any portion of it, forms part of a legal easement along seas, rivers, lakes, esteros, and creeks.
Under Republic Act No. 10023, qualified Filipino citizens who are actual occupants of residential land may apply for a Free Patent Title from the DENR. Lazatin said issuing such titles over legal easements could disrupt waterways and worsen flooding.
“Considering the heightened risks of flooding caused by the monsoon and typhoon season, and the important role of maintaining waterways to mitigate said risks, it is now crucial for the government to take necessary steps to protect these waterways from further encroachment,” Lazatin said.
The resolution comes in the wake of massive flooding in Pampanga in August, triggered by heavy rains from typhoons coinciding with the southwest monsoon or Habagat. Satellite data from the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) showed extensive flooding across Regions I, II, III, IV-A, IV-B, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the National Capital Region.
Pampanga, which was heavily affected, has an extensive network of rivers, tributaries, creeks, esteros, drainage channels, and low-lying floodplain areas.
Lazatin earlier joined a joint inspection of the Sapangbato Watershed in Angeles City on November 20, 2025, together with the DENR, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, Angeles City LGU, and members of the media, to assess watershed conditions and flood mitigation measures.
The post Cong Pogi wants DENR to protect waterways first appeared on Pampanga News Now.