Hataman clears way for log permits

DUMINGAG, Zamboanga del Sur—The highest ranking officer in charge of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has ordered an inventory of tree plantations in the region in preparation for the possible issuance of permits to cut trees provided these were not from natural growth forests.

Mujiv Hataman, acting ARMM governor, said the inventory was needed to determine which individuals or companies would be issued tree-cutting permits.

Following the Dec. 17 disaster that struck the northern Mindanao cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, Hataman received direct orders from President Aquino to stop logging in the region.

Logs cut from the forests of Lanao del Sur, a province in ARMM, had made floods that swept the two cities deadlier, pummeling hundreds of people to their deaths.

A logging firm, Vicmar, was identified as the operator of the concession from which the killer logs are believed to have come.

As a result of Mr. Aquino’s instruction, Hataman issued Executive Order No. 3 which imposed a moratorium on tree-cutting even in private plantations in ARMM.

Hataman, however, said EO 3 was not a blanket ban on tree-cutting in plantations. He said it merely imposes a stricter procedure in the issuance of tree-cutting permits “because we want to make sure the trees are really from private estates and not from our remaining forests.”

The inventory, he said, would help authorities identify the source of trees that would be cut in the region.

A previous executive order issued by the President imposed a total ban on logging in natural growth forests, effectively invalidating logging permits that are also known as Industrial Forest Management Agreement.

“The problem is that there is no baseline information about private tree plantations like where these are, the size of these estates and who owned these,” Hataman said.

“The most important piece of information is whether the private estate planted with trees belong inside or outside a watershed area. We have vigorously stressed that the ban on tree-cutting in watershed areas is a big no-no, whatever the ownership status of the land,” he said.

Permits to cut will require clearance from the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office, which, in turn, will investigate if the trees to be cut are really outside watersheds.

Tree species would be identified and results of the investigation would help authorities validate the source of logs that are being transported, said the acting governor.

Hataman said previous practice required only reporting by timber producers on the origin of their logs. There has been no independent way to verify the report by timber producers because there has never been any inventory of tree plantations, he said.

Businessmen involved in wood production in Lanao del Sur, in a dialogue with Hataman recently, protested the blanket ban on tree-cutting, saying this was killing their source of livelihood and depleting jobs.

Hataman said all that wood producers have to do is adjust to the new policy. Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao