DILG orders crack down on illegal logging, calls for planting of trees
MANILA, Philippines — In the aftermath of the destruction caused by three typhoons in as many weeks, local governments and the national police have been told to crack down on illegal logging and hasten the planting of trees in their areas, the interior department said Monday.
Interior secretary Eduardo Año disclosed in a statement issued Monday afternoon that units of the Philippine National Police have been directed to set up checkpoints and arrest illegal loggers who violate the Revised Forestry Code, particularly Section 79 stipulating the “Unlawful Occupation or Destruction of Forest Lands and Grazing Lands.”
“The flooding brought by Typhoon Ulysses is a harsh reminder that we are failing at doing our level best to protect the environment, especially our remaining forest cover. This is why I am directing all PNP units and local governments to put a stop to illegal logging and illegal quarrying in their localities,” Año said in mixed Filipino and English.
“All local government units must reactivate their local Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force and be decisive in implementing the anti-illegal logging campaign and implementation of environmental laws and programs within their localities,” he added.
Año in his statement also urged local executives to install forest guards and asked the DENR to deploy foresters to push for reforestation programs in local communities.
This comes after tropical cyclones Quinta, Rolly and Ulysses ravaged most areas in the country, with the latter yielding P12.9 billion in damages to agriculture and infrastructure according to latest figures from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Cagayan province, among the areas hardest-hit by Ulysses, has been under a state of calamity for the past week, with countless Filipinos still seeking assistance as they try to rebuild their lives.
Videos that went viral on social media in the wake of the storm showed residents calling for help in the pitch-black darkness, still trapped on their rooftops as night fell after the worst floods the country has seen in years. Local officials said illegal logging was among the main reasons for the sudden floods.
Citing a memorandum by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Año pointed out that all local chief executives are expected to conduct upland monitoring “to ensure that no illegal logging, kaingin and other forms of forest destruction” take place within their jurisdictions with the directive to report incidents of forests destruction to their regional task forces through the DILG's regional units.
Even the House of Representatives has announced its intent to probe the circumstances of the massive flooding that submerged the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela during the height of Typhoon Ulysses' onslaught.
In an earlier statement, House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco called on the lower chamber to look into the decision of the National Irrigation Administration to open the spillway gates of Magat Dam, and if such action was done in accordance with duly established guidelines and protocols.
“We must act quickly and in a whole-of-society fashion to protect our remaining forests across the country otherwise we are creating and causing more disasters for our country,” the interior secretary also said.
“It is imperative that we must stop the wanton destruction of our remaining forest resources not only for our sake but also for future generations who will suffer the consequences of our inaction,” he added.
— Franco Luna
Follow this page for updates on typhoon relief and recovery efforts in the Philippines. Image by AFP/Charism Sayat.
The Philippine Coast Guard says it has transported 3,264.9 tons of relief goods and critical supplies on its vessels and aircraft to help with rehabilitation efforts in areas affected by Typhoon Odette last December.
The Coast Guard began transporting emergency supplies on December 19, 2021.
COVID-19 facilities damaged by recent typhoons should be repaired as soon as possible, Sen. Risa Hontiveros says Monday as she called for additional funding for this in the 2021 budget of the Department of Health.
Hontiveros says an increase in the DOH budget would go to rebuilding typhoon-hit facilities in Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, and Albay that have been rendered "completely non-functional".
She adds: "Testing and isolation are two of the most important steps in our fight against COVID-19. Any delay in the restoration of these facilities could be a major setback in our progress. The additional budget means there should be no excuses for inaction."
Akbayan visit barangays Nangka and Tumana in Marikina on Tuesday to distribute food packs to families affected by Typhoon Ulysses earlier this month.
At the food distribution were Akbayan Youth Chair RJ Naguit as well as Miss Philippines-Earth 2020 title holders Gianna Llanes, Quintana Tormes and candidate Iris Marie Mabanta.
Chinese social media giant TikTok pledges to donate approximately P15 million ($300,000) to relief efforts following typhoons that struck the Philippines.
Half of the donation will be allocated to the Philippine Red Cross for their efforts of providing hot meals and other urgent necessities in typhoon-hit areas.
"TikTok’s donation will surely go a long way in further strengthening PRC’s humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of those who were impacted by the recent calamities. You can be sure the Red Cross will continue to be there for the people affected," Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the PRC, says.
President Duterte's chief legal counsel has advised Vice President Leni Robredo not to publicize her aid distribution and to just let people she helped to spread the word about her activities.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, who recently apologized to Robredo for reacting to false information about her relief efforts, said the vice president need not inform the media about her aid distribution because local residents would talk about it.
RELATED: Panelo told to 'get facts straight' over claim Robredo rode government plane to Bicol
"If you are there, people (would) talk about it and word will spread that you have been there. It will reach the ears of those who are appreciative of what you are doing," Panelo said during his television program on state media last Friday.
Robredo has said that her team posts updates on relief operations so donors and partners will know that their help is reaching those who need it. She also said that the updates are to reassure people that they have been heard.
Whenever we get updates from the ground, we share them with the public. It is important to assure those who are distressed that (1) we heard you; (2) help is coming; (3) we are doing all we can to save you.
— Leni Robredo (@lenirobredo) November 17, 2020
"You do not have to broadcast every move, every help you want to give to the people. Mas maganda yung tahimik lang (It would be better if you do it quietly)," Panelo said. — The STAR/Alexis Romero
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