KABAYAN, Benguet – Gov. Melchor D. Diclas urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and law enforcement agencies to jointly conduct an aggressive campaign to preserve and protect the Mount Pulag National Park from the ongoing rapid intrusion of illegal loggers and owners of commercial vegetable farms.
Diclas said that the provincial government had been receiving numerous reports on the rapid deforestation of portions of Mount Pulag being initiated by illegal loggers and owners of commercial vegetable farms but there is a need for the consolidated efforts of the local governments, concerned government and law enforcement agencies to contain the deterioration of the second highest mountain peak in the country.
“We urge the DENR and the law enforcement agencies to be aggressive in addressing the pressing deforestation of our major tourist destination because we want our forests to be preserve and protected. We do not want to wake up someday and see that our forest cover is already gone” Diclas stressed.
Earlier, concerned sectors in the municipality raised concern on the alleged rapid deforestation of forested portions of Mount Pulag which are being done by armed and dangerous individuals believed to be involved in syndicated activities that tend to compromise the state of the watershed in the future.
For his part, Police Col. Damian Olsim, Provincial Director of the Benguet Provincial Police office, said that law enforcers are conducting regular mobile and foot patrol operations within portions of the watershed to abate the illegal logging and expansion of commercial farms by unscrupulous individuals and that they had been successful in preventing such illegal activities from being continued.
However, sources, who requested anonymity for security reasons, pointed out that there should be a holistic approach by local governments, concerned government and law enforcement agencies to address the worsening deforestation of Mount Pulag as what is needed at the moment are drastic measures that would put an end to the illegal activities of people being done in the watershed so that it will be preserved and protected.
The source described that the rate of deforestation is massive because the organized groups are now using numerous units of heavy equipment complimented by manpower composed of hardened criminals to illegally cut trees and expand their commercial farms into the forested areas that tend to compromise the future state of the environment in the area.
According to them, previous politicians of the towns hosting Mount Pulag pare partly to blame because they allegedly tolerated the said illegal activities of the organized groups for them to be able to maintain their stay in public office as the illegal loggers and owners of commercial vegetable farms were able to contribute in funding their campaigns for re-election.
Further, he added that one of the reasons for the dismissal of cases that were filed against the individuals who were earlier arrested for their questionable activities within the watershed is that the said groups hire armed persons to harass and threaten the witnesses and those who filed the cases against their principals until such time that they no longer appear during adjudications and court hearings leading to the dismissal of the filed cases.
Another source also questioned why numerous units of heavy equipment and trucks were able to enter the said communities when there are established checkpoints being manned by law enforcers to supposedly control the entry of people and vehicles in the watershed as well as the illegal transport of logs or sawn lumber from the reservation to their points of destination outside the park.
The source challenged concerned government agencies, local governments and law enforcement offices to have the political will in strictly enforcing the pertinent provisions of Presidential Decree (PD) 795 or the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines as amended and other related laws, rules and regulations to prevent the further deterioration of the major tourist destination and to abate what is currently happening in the various portions of the park.
Other sources revealed that the rapid expansion of commercial vegetable farms in certain portions of Mount Pulag is now nearing the four sacred lakes that is why government officials should not wait for the worst-case scenario to happen before acting on the said serious problem.
The sources are wondering why there are no drastic actions that are being done by the concerned authorities when the presence of numerous units of heavy equipment and trucks and many individuals working on the vegetable farms and doing illegal logging activities are evident that now casts doubt on their sincerity to preserve and protect the sacred mountain of the indigenous peoples inhabiting the different places.
The sources asserted that the DENR cannot address the problem alone but there should be collaborative and coordinated efforts among the local officials of the communities surrounding the watershed, the concerned government agencies and the law enforcers who are supposed to implement the provisions of the law to the fullest without fear or favor to send a clear message to the said illegal loggers and owners of commercial vegetable farms to stop their illegal activities of for them to face the consequences of their present actions.
“We should not allow the future generations to be the ones to suffer the consequences of our greed. Let us not wait for the environment to retaliate on us. Let us instead protect our remaining forest cover so that our children and our children’s children will be able to enjoy the fruits of a well preserved and protected environment,” the source stated.