DENR chief blames illegal logging for disaster

Environment Secreatary Ramon Paje said that illegal logging in the Philippines was accountable for the destruction in the emergence of super typhoon “Pablo” in Davao and Caraga regions. He said that the illegal logging in the two regions is widespread, thus, it has to be responsible for the devastation left by the super typhoon. He also added that the 80 percent of the trouble spot is located in the said regions where illegal logging takes place as well as worst strike by the super typhoon. Paje said that complete prevention of illegal logging should be implemented and military must participate to hunt down the syndicates that keep on cutting and ruining those areas in the provinces.

The president of the Philippines implemented the Executive order 23, faltering all approved logging operations in natural forest throughout a whole nation and effectively eliminating lumber removal which has a total of three hundred million board feet every year.

The action plan of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of EO has a rapid effect that slowed down the rate of illegal logging from 197 to 31. Aside from the communist rebellion in the regions of Davao and Caraga, the DENR also need to settle an agreement with the armed groups recruited by illegal loggers.

The head of DENR was mentioning to Resolution No. 2012-005 of the Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force (AILTF), which places the military at the front line in order to combat the illegal loggers in Mindanao since there are rebellions in the region and to save the rapid number of civilian victims in the compliance of the law to make total log ban possible.

I. Villanueva