DENR wants forest rangers to carry guns

CALAMBA CITY—Following the murder of forester Elpidio “Jojo” Malinao of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, environment officials want the government to consider arming forest rangers.

Nilo Tamoria, regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Calabarzon area (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), said it was high time  forest rangers undergo “comprehensive law enforcement training in preparation for arming them.”

“I’d (also) go for the creation of a law enforcement bureau within the DENR given the big amount of environmental laws we are implementing,” said Tamoria.

Tamoria said this has become more urgent since President Benigno Aquino III ordered a total logging ban. He pointed out that unlike some agencies with big regulatory functions, the DENR does not have its own law enforcement arm.

Tamoria made this proposal in an interview during the launch on Thursday of the National Greening Program (NGP) for Calabarzon, part of the national campaign to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares in the next six years.

Deputy House Speaker and Quezon 4th district Representative Erin Tañada told the Philippine Daily Inquirer he would support Tamoria’s proposal to arm the rangers.

Tañada, who was the guest speaker at the NGP launch, authored House Resolution 1258 calling for a full investigation into the death of forester Malinao and other environment workers.

Malinao was shot and killed in Bay, Laguna on May 9, three years after forest guard Anselmo Bulanhagui of DENR-Calabarzon was shot dead while manning a checkpoint in Sta. Maria town, also in Laguna.

Since June 2010, the DENR recorded six of their employees killed in the line of duty: a forest guard from Cordillera, four from Caraga region, and an environment officer in Samar.