Zubiri seeks passage of bill protecting environmental workers

MANILA, Philippines - More than 120 government environmental workers have been killed since 1987, which Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said highlights the need to pass the bill aimed at protecting them and outlining their rights and benefits.

During a hearing held last Wednesday, various government agencies, non-government organizations, local government units and academe expressed their support for Senate Bill 2550 or the Magna Carta for Environment Workers authored by Zubiri.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje noted that seven of their personnel have been killed since July last year or “an equivalent of losing a guy every month.”

“The lives of our comrades and environmental workers are often in danger. We know what had happened to our environmental workers like botanist Dr. Leonard Co and broadcaster Jerry Ortega very recently, and this has been happening around the country,” Zubiri said.

“We are in dire need of a law that will protect and promote the welfare of our environmental workers and we’d like to expand this to cover non-government workers, volunteers, cops, soldiers and lawyers,” he said, as he vowed to fast-track the approval of Senate Bill 2550.

Zubiri said that it is high time that the country’s environment workers be given the protection, benefits and recognition they deserve.

Under the bill, protection and benefits shall be given to the personnel of DENR, its bureaus, regional offices, and attached agencies, environmental units in the other government agencies and the ecological waste management department of the local government units including forest rangers and park rangers.

The same would also be provided to private individuals and groups who are engaged in the protection of the environment such as NGOs and environmental units of private corporations or enterprises.

The bill also seeks to develop their skills and capabilities in order that they would be more responsive and better equipped to deliver environmental management functions while offering benefits for them to remain in government service.

Among the benefits is the grant of hazard allowance equivalent to 25 percent of the monthly basic salary for those who are involved in hazardous undertakings such as field inspectors, waste monitoring and sampling specialists and those whose duties expose them to radiation, volcanic eruption and other occupational risks.

Aside from these, environmental workers will also get highest basic salary upon retirement, higher insurance premium and increased medical examination package.

Society of Filipino Foresters national council president Rene de Rueda aired his support for the measure.

“We are already considered threatened species. We fully support the proposal of Sen. Zubiri and we’d like to ask that funds be given to provide legal assistance too for our workers who have been harassed by legal suits by organized syndicates who are out there to do harm to our environment,” he said.