2 provinces join hands vs logging
DAGUPAN CITY—Environment officials in Pangasinan and Zambales have joined hands with the military and police to stop logging in the provinces, following the discovery of logging operations that destroyed at least 50 hectares of an old-growth forest in Mangatarem town.
Last week, Pangasinan environment officials expressed alarm over the destruction of a section of the province’s largest remaining forest in Mangatarem after a road was built there. The unpaved road zigzags through heavy timber areas and connects Zambales and Pangasinan.
Samuel Peñafiel, Ilocos director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said the best way to stop illegal logging was to block the forest’s entry and exit points and stop loggers from transporting illegally cut logs.
“We should also look at the possibility of destroying portions of the road,” he said.
Peñafiel said logs coming from Zambales’ forests were also transported through roads in Pangasinan.
He said illegal logging operations in Mangatarem’s forest were well-financed and organized after their inspection revealed a network of roads built inside the forest and the presence of tents, utensils and canned goods in many areas. Loggers also put up a tower at the highest peak in the forest, where a watchman could see all approaching vehicles.
Nelson Castro, provincial environment and natural resources officer (Penro) of Zambales, suggested blasting a section of the road so equipment and vehicles used by illegal loggers could not pass through.
“[Loggers in Zambales] used to haul logs through old roads, but with the new highway, it became easier for them [to transport forest products],” Castro said.
A document from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) showed that the 19.5-kilometer road cutting through Mangatarem’s forest was built in 2008 by a resident in the town despite the lack of permits and proper awarding of contract from the DPWH, said Leduina Co, Pangasinan Penro.
Co said an earlier plan showed that the highway should have been built on grasslands in the area and not through the forest. “It looked like it was intended to pass through the forest for easy hauling of timber by illegal loggers,” she said.
Colonel Jesus Sarsagat, commander of the Philippine Army unit based in Binmaley town, said establishing checkpoints in Aguilar and Mangatarem towns, the main routes to and from the forest, could stop illegal activities there.
“We will post soldiers there to arrest illegal loggers and seize forest products. We will assign 100 soldiers, so whatever they cut, they cannot bring out,” he said.
Sarsagat said a massive information campaign against illegal logging and its impact should also be done.—Yolanda Sotelo
