Four Caraga officials face raps for illegal logging

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – Four top officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Caraga Region are now in hot waters after management of the Butuan City Water District head Eng. Anselmo Sangtian filed negligence, grave misconduct and unjustifiable refusal to perform duties against regional executive director Edilberto Buiser, Butuan City community environment and natural resources officer Achilles Ebron, Cabadbaran CENRO Raul Rosales and Agusan del Norte PENRO Rosendo Asunto.

The watershed area which covers some 4,300 hectares located at Barangay Anticala this city that extended up to two towns of Agusan del Norte, Cabadbaran and RTR, was declared by the national government as extremely protected areas, hence, no cutting of trees much more mining activities even small-scale mining is allowed.

It is the only source of potable water supply to some 300,000 residents of Butuan City and nearby environs, said Sangtian.

In its four-page complaint affidavit dated March 3, 2009 filed before the Office of the Ombudsman Mindanao in Davao City, the water firm complained that DENR officials failed to make any investigation and/or verification including naming names of the perpetrators who brought heavy equipment, logging and hauling trucks to the highly protected watershed area.

A group of selected newsmen and community leaders mostly members of the Association of Barangay Captains of Butuan City who went on ocular inspection in the area have witnessed traces of environment destructions.

Local residents and barangay officials when interviewed opted to remain silent as to the identities of the perpetrators claiming that financers of illegal logging and mining activities here are allegedly well-heeled and some are alleged to be local politicians.

The Butuan City Water District in its complaint said that despite many complaint letters officially received by the Office of the DENR Regional Executive Director and despite many meetings and conferences designed to address the problem, still no investigation or verifications were done.

The water firm claimed they have complete and concrete evidences which were all submitted to the DENR copy furnished the City Government of Butuan that indeed rampant illegal logging and mining activities are being conducted inside the watershed areas.

But the same, complaint affidavit, with complete copy and photos, were not officially acted upon, perpetrators not identified and prosecuted as no filing of cases were filed and worst such illegal activities continued.

The complaint affidavit said that apart from illegal logging and mining, activities of illegal construction of roads are also being done in the protected watershed area which cuts and traverses in the only source of potable water supply of Butuan.

Evidences of said illegal construction of road activities were also submitted to the DENR and Butuan City Government sometime in April 2008.

The last photos of illegal activities done inside said watershed area was taken by inspecting BCWD workers on Feb. 22, 2009 and others just recently when they caught huge stockpile of illegally cut hardwood species found at the middle of the watershed area.