CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Church-led environmental group Task Force Sierra Madre has asked Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza to create an independent investigation committee to look into illegal logging in Dingalan, a town in Aurora where landslides killed some 700 people in 2004.

In a July 28 letter, Gary Lumbo, TFSM Dingalan chapter president, and Fr. Pete Montallana, TFSM chair, also asked Atienza to remove Joselito Blanco as community environment and natural resources officer (Cenro) in the town due to his alleged inaction.

In his previous stints, Blanco has been known to be against illegal loggers. He succeeded Meliton Vicente who Atienza removed in March over the same allegations by TFSM.

Regidor de Leon, executive director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Luzon, said he welcomed the creation of an investigation committee but disagreed with the removal of Blanco.

“The DENR is transparent but getting Blanco out of there ahead of the investigation is, I think, unfair,” De Leon said.

TFSM urged Atienza to form the committee, saying the same request was made in a letter on July 3.

Lumbo and Montallana said Atienza has yet to appoint members of the committee although nominees have been named.

Their three-page letter cited several cases when truckloads of logs, lumber and charcoal had been hauled out of Barangays Matawe, Paltic, Ibona and Umiray since June.

The TFSM leaders said permits for the retrieval of fallen logs in 2004 are being used to “legalize illegal logs.”