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.”
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“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