ARMM gov allows tree-cutting in private estates with conditions

MARAWI CITY, Philippines—Acting Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said he was lifting the moratorium on tree-cutting in private estates but stressed that the logging ban in the region’s forests stays.

He also imposed new conditions for securing a permit to cut trees inside private lands.

In the aftermath of Tropical Storm “Sendong,” whose massive floods sent a large volume of logs from Kapai, Lanao del Sur crashing down on Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities in Northern Mindanao last December, Hataman imposed a moratorium on the granting of permits to cut trees in forested areas, including private lands.

And with a log ban covering forest lands already in place, Hataman’s moratorium effectively shut down all logging activities in the region.

But over the weekend, Hataman said the cutting of trees on private lands will now be allowed provided the trees are not located in watershed areas, citing “strategic ecological implications.”

He said legitimate holders of Integrated Forest Managament Agreements (Ifmas) have nothing to fear because they would be allowed to operate as long as their operation was not within watershed areas.

“If the watershed is endangered, pasensyahan tayo (we have to abide),” Hataman stressed.

But to prevent the new policy from being exploited, Hataman said log cutting permits applied for tree plantations outside of watershed areas clearance would have to be cleared with the community environment and natural resources office (CENRO) concerned.

The CENRO clearance will be issued after a site inspection is conducted to determine if the trees inside or outside the watershed and verification of the tree species allowed for cutting, he said.

For cut logs apprehended by authorities when the moratorium was imposed, Hataman said the government could no loner release them even if these had come from private lands.

The origins of these logs have not been clearly established, hence, there is suspicion these came from the forests, he said.

Meanwhile, officials of Barangay Panoroganan in Iligan City have decried what they deemed were efforts to make small tree harvesters scapegoats in the aftermath of the December flood.

Panoroganan village councilor Macasalong Daranda told participants of Tuesday’s consultation in Iligan City on recovery and rehabilitation of flooded areas that the real culprits were large-scale logging companies.

“The illegal and massive cutting of trees in the hinterlands of Iligan and adjacent places in Lanao del Sur were done by companies and not by individuals or groups of people from the hinterland barangays, who were seeking a living,” he said. With a report from Tito Fiel, Inquirer Mindanao