LUCENA CITY – With the renewed illegal logging activities in Sierra Madre, a Church-based watchdog urged Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza to heed their long-time call for the formation of an independent citizen's probe body to stop the rape of the country's remaining virgin forest.

"Illegal loggers never stop even during the Yuletide season. The forest criminals continue their evil operations with impunity," Fr. Pete Montallana, chair of Task Force Sierra Madre, said over the phone Tuesday.

He dismissed the government self-proclaimed success in environmental protection particularly in the Sierra Madre mountain range as nothing but "empty propaganda".

The priest claimed that volumes of illegally cut forest products were being slipped out of the mountain under the cloak of darkness with most of the flitches, square logs and lumber sneaking through the mountain backdoor in Tanay, Rizal.

"We believe that this repulsive cycle will only stop if Secretary Atienza will give the go-signal for the formation of an independent citizen's investigating team in Aurora and Quezon provinces that will help assist in the government war against illegal loggers," Montallana said.

In a separate phone interview, Ramcey Astoveza, Agta tribal leader, confirmed the return of illegal logging activities in Sierra Madre.

"Honestly, these illegal loggers have now become regular intruders in Sierra Madre. We've long exposed their presence through the media but the government was not doing anything to stop them. We don't know why," Astoveza said.

Citing sources from lowlanders and even from illegal loggers themselves, the tribe leader claimed that corrupt government officials and politicians are actively involved in the illegal forest activities.

However, he declined to identify the government officials.

"It's now up to the concerned government agencies to investigate. We're willing to help," he said.

With the non-stop destruction of the mountain's eco-system, the Agta leader said they have lost their traditional hunting grounds for wild boar.

"Catching one is now getting to be very difficult. With the thundering noise from power saws, the herd of wild pigs has retreated to the inner bosom of the mountain. They are afraid of strange loud noises," he explained.

Montallana said they sent a letter to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Dec. 13 last year urging her to order the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to form the Citizens' Independent Investigating Team with priests and environmentalists as members as agreed upon in one of the meetings in Malacañang last June 16.

"The struggle of the Task Force Sierra Madre and the Church to protect the environment continues because of the corruption in the DENR. We would like to inform the President that the promise to form a Citizens' Independent Investigating Team has not been implemented," the TFSM said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net).

According to Montallana, they have submitted to the DENR a list of priests and lay people who could be members of the task force that would investigate the alleged corruption of government environment workers in northern Quezon and Aurora province.

"Sad to say, our request has not been acted upon and we understand why. They are afraid of outsiders peeking through their hidden closets," he said.

Rufo Lorenzo, head of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in northern Quezon, dismissed the charges of corruption as rehashed and baseless.

"Our men are doing everything to protect the environment despite the meager resources of our office. What we need now is the cooperation of all sectors and not these destructive and senseless blame-pointing," he said in a past phone interview.

Infanta Catholic Bishop Rolando Tria Tirona also blamed the DENR for the continued destruction of the Sierra Madre.

Montallana dared Atienza to prove his sincerity in his self-declared willingness to work with the religious in the war against environment criminals.

Last month, after the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a pastoral letter "Upholding the Sanctity of Life" that took issue with the problem of illegal logging and irresponsible mining, Atienza immediately declared his willingness to be one with the Church in its environmental protection crusade.

The government environment czar vowed that the DENR would undertake honest-to-goodness measures to combat illegal logging, global warming and irresponsible mining.