A voice in the wilderness

The title above describes lawyer Jess Santos of Bulacan, who for 38 years, has been fighting undesirable  elements  who have caused  the denudation of the forest in the Angat watershed, resulting  in the  threateningly near-drying up of the reservoir that supplies nearly 80 percent of the water needs of Metro Manila and the irrigation of  municipalities in Pampanga and ten municipalities in Bulacan. The reservation covers 62,00 hectares which touch Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and part of the Sierra Madre. At the Bulong Pulungan sa Sofitel Tuesday,  he was still training his guns at illegal loggers who have enriched themselves at the expense of millions of taxpayers.

Clad in a jacket and striped shirt, at age 88, Jess looked dapper, though tired, as he implored media to help him in his advocacy — not only to save the dam, but, to stop illegal logging. An aide brought a box containing age-old clippings, letters and pictures that document how loggers raped the Angat infrastructure.

The documents included reports on employees of the Angat Hydroelectric Plant Corp. opening the three floodgates of the dam  during heavy rains in 1978 without warning the villagers, resulting in 300 deaths, and destruction of farmlands. The lawyer took up the cudgels for the victims, and won for them, after 14  years, a Supreme Court ruling giving the victims’ families little compensation. Since that time, and until today, saving Angat is Jess’ obsession.

His campaign  to  stop illegal logging operations in Angat made him write letters to Philippine presidents and media personalities  as the late columnists Max V. Soliven and Doroy Valencia, Neil Cruz, Boo Chanco, Ruther Batuigas,  Ike Gutierrez and E.T. Suarez. These influential writers plus broadsheet editorials wrote about how people in government contribute to the raping of the watershed.

Jess went as far as speaking at rallies in barangays denouncing illegal logging operations. A listener wrote him about trucks loaded with logs; word of the haul reached the ears of possibly “barefoot doctors” who burned the vehicles and distributed the logs to residents.

 Pictures show him with government officials and military men looking at processed illegal timber sourced from Angat. A news story tells of his appreciation of the quick action of former National Bureau of Investigation chief Fred Lim when he sent his people to confiscate illegally felled trees in the area. “He’s the kind of official we want to lead us,” Jess, a Liberal Party stalwart, says.

In his  Feb. 12, 1994 letter to former President Fidel V. Ramos, he denounced the cutting down of apitong trees in 3,000 hectares of the reservation because of infestation. President Ramos gave instructions to stop the operation.

The lawyer recounted in his letter that before Ramos’ term,  through his representation, former President  Ferdinand Marcos stopped a relative of his family from cutting down  trees in the area by soldiers in several military trucks.

He’s had a bad taste of wrongdoing by a Cabinet secretary of former President Aquino. On Nov. 5, 1986, shortly after his appointment, this official, for reasons which nobody could understand, according to Santos, issued a special timber license to a corporation to cut and remove annually 100,000 cubic meters of timber from an area covering 7,000 hectares in the reservation. Through Santos’ representation, this official was removed from office.

This special timber license was cancelled by the next Agriculture and Natural Resources Secretary Sonny Dominguez, whom Jess considers “a very great public official.”

The third attempt to massively denude the reservation was made on July 12, 1989, when the next secretary of Agriculture agreed to cut and haul 3,000 pieces of trees in the reservation in favor of the National Power Corporation to be made into electric poles.  A Senate investigation showed that “illegal logging  was proven perpetrated by the National Power Corporation.”

Jess told Bulong Pulungan that  illegal logging continues on the sly. Carabaos are used to haul logs, as they don’t make noise like trucks. And that’s even more dangerous, said Jess. The logs can roll down the eroded hills to the villages below.

As of the past weekend, the dam was nearing its critical level, hitting 180.35 meters. The critical level is 180 meters.

Jess, who could make a wiser environment secretary, told media to go to the dam site,  and prod concerned officials to do something to stop illegal logging and save Angat Dam. Only then will he shed the title of being “a lonely voice in the wilderness.”

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From Mark Garcia of the Silliman Office of Information and Communications, comes the good news that a  graduate of Silliman University topped the Foreign Service Examinations (FSO) of the Department of Foreign Affairs. It’s about an alumna who’s really brains and beauty.

Stacy Danika S. Alcantara, who obtained her degree in mass communication, summa cum laude, in 2009 leads this year’s passers of only 30.

The FSO is one of the toughest exams administered to those aspiring to become diplomats. It is composed of five stages and is completed within a period of one year. Its number of passers represents less than 10 per cent of its total applicants.

Stacy served as president of the Student Government in 2008 to 2009, and was a champion debater and public speaker. A prolific writer, she was one of few youth leaders from the world accepted as a contributing blogger for the World Bank.  In 2009, she was awarded as one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines.

Stacy  was also reaping awards at Silliman’s high school. She was editor of the school paper and won in writing competitions. In her third year, she published her first book, The Secret of the Amulet, a story for children based on Philippine folklore and myths. A year later, she became one of the youngest to have been crowned Miss Silliman. She graduated with honors.

Stacy joins the illustrious list of Sillimanian diplomats. Two of them are Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor, former ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who is an incoming member of the Silliman University Board of Trustees and currently president of the Silliman Alumni Association, Inc., and Ambassador Mac Arthur F. Corsino, former ambassador to Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

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Misono Teppanyaki, a newly opened Japanese restaurant in the heart of Makati, hosted  The Village People, the World’s No. 1 Disco Superstars that gave us the greatest hits like “Y.M.C.A.,”  â€œMacho Man,”   and “In the  Navy.”  With four of the original members and two new band members they had  a taste of this unique Japanese restaurant. Misono Teppanyaki also played host recently to Abba Mania, an international band.

Misono Teppanyaki serves  a new wave of exquisite and authentic Japanese food. Its  crisp and green  lettuce is naturally  grown in Paradizoo Theme Farm, its  sister company.

Beside MIsono  is Yakitori Daitokyo, another new Japanese restaurant that gives us a taste of authentic Japanese barbeque.

My email:dominitorrevillas@gmail.com