Talisay SP denies ditching measure

CEBU, Philippines - The administration bloc in the Talisay City council has denied it disregard a proposed resolution supporting President Aquino's call for a total log ban.

"Their reason to defer (Councilor Danny) Caballero's resolution was to prevent people from believing that we are tolerating illegal logging in our city," read the text message sent by Public Information Officer Arturo Bas.

The council, during its regular session Tuesday last week, referred the proposed resolution to the Committees on Environment and Laws regardless of Caballero's defense of his proposal.

In an interview, Caballero, a minority councilor who is not authorized to propose any measure as per the council's House Rules, said his only objective is to make the city take bold steps in protecting its natural resources such as trees, which, based on reports, have been discriminately cut to be made into coal or furniture.

One classic example of this is the balding forest of the mountains of barangays Manipis and Tapul, he said.

Caballero is vice chairman on council committee on Agriculture and Aquatic Resources.

Caballero's proposal was for the city to "strongly" support Aquino's Executive Order No. 23 which is declaring a moratorium on the cutting and harvesting of timber in the natural and residual forest and creating the anti-illegal logging task force as its implementing arm.

The city might have an existing law against illegal cutting of trees, but he said, it looks like it has not been fully implemented thereby putting at risk the city's forests which are a part of its timberland.

The city, contrary to administration bloc's claim, has not curbed illegal logging practices.

In last year's record of the Talisay City Police Station, seven illegal loggers were arrested in the city's mountains.