DENR on its feet in Fire Prevention Month?

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- This is for RED Clarence Baguilat and his men.

Last week, the Barot Binay-an Clan Ancestral Land, Inc. called for a press conference and reported to the media about their land dispute problem where parties at the opposite end involved none other than their cousin and co-heir.

However, that is not the story that I wish to point out. What is more alarming than the personal problem of the Binay-an clan was the report that a forest fire inside their ancestral land claim occurred sometime around the first week of the Fire Prevention Month, or somewhere around March 7.

According to the Counter Intelligence Service Group (CISG), the SEC-registered NGO that accompanied the Binay-an clan president to check on the origin of the forest fire, they saw around five adult Pine Trees that were felled and that there were signs of earth-moving activities, apparently in preparation for a subdivision.

The fact that the Kennon police station is within proximity of the forest fire and yet nothing was done is shocking. Neither were there any reports about sounds of motocross races in the area. What I mean is that there were no reports of sounds of chainsaws or tree cutting inside the land that is just lying on the opposite cliff of the Kennon police station.

In the press conference held at the Luisa’s Café, the official address of Chong Loi News Agency, members of the CISG claimed they were illegally arrested by the police and hauled to the station along Kennon at Camp 7 for questioning, instead of being assisted in their effort to find out the origin of the forest fire.

They said however that the station commander eventually apologized to their group and were released from police custody after he talked to an unknown person on the phone. This reminds me… are some policemen acting as PAGs or private armed group of someone in the vicinity, reason why no one knew about the forest fire, tree cutting and earth-moving?

While the land where the forest fire, tree cutting and earth-moving activities occurred is under dispute by opposing relatives, the environmental problems thereat are issues that should not be overshadowed by the personal conflict of the ancestral land owners.
***
I was also a victim of a similar situation, to the extent that our newspaper reports of environmental issues resulted to a libel case against us. I swallowed that all and simply answered the libel complaint.

I could have done otherwise by presenting evidence of erroneous assessment reports made by the DENR that apparently favored the libel complainant. But I did not want to because I valued more the ties between us news reporters and friends in the DENR who could have found themselves jobless now or in hot water if I did otherwise.

As an obedient soldier of the press, I willingly wrote a news report out of the DENR report, although I knew that there were intentional errors in it. Eventually, the libel case was dismissed.

No matter what, I still believe that the relationship between news reporters and the officials should be more professional and critical at the same time, aside from the brandy and pulutan that occasionally come in between the performance of their duties.

Newsmen should have the guts to come up with positive criticism, while officials should look at these criticisms as motivations and encouragement to do better. What I have noticed is that the more writers become unwitting propagandists of an agency and the more they make the agency look good to the public, the more they are rewarded.

Those who write bad news although these are the truth are nothing more than ordinary newsmen.
***
Still on the first week of Fire Prevention Month, I noticed that the forest right above the Chinese Bell Church at Km.3, La Trinidad has been burned twice this year – once in February and on the first week of March.

Also on the last week of February, the hill right above Sitio Mamaga, just across and above the Balili River at Km.3 was burned. I know this for a fact because our old house at New Lucban is on a vantage point where one can see these mountains everytime they shine like gold in the night, due to unstoppable fires.

These hills or mountains can become very accessible, if the DENR spends a little of its funds for opening trails for fire trucks. I am sure the DENR officials in the Cordillera have better ideas.

By the way, I do remember that the last tree planting activity on the forest above the Chinese Bell Church towards lower Ambiong was conducted by members of the Baguio Arts Guild and Baguio Musicians Guild in April, three months before the 1990 earthquake.
The Pine Trees that were gutted by fires this month were the Pine Tree seedlings that we planted 20 years ago.
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Two weeks ago, I learned from some members of the Kesbeng-Gayasi Neighborhood Association that the developer of the Cordillera Homeowners Cooperative-Saint Francis Subdivision located atop the Benguet Capitol has violated their verbal agreement.

In a letter, the Kesbeng group said the subdivision developer has been dumping soil towards Sitios Gayasi and Kesbeng, even as their existing road becomes so muddy when the rains come.

Because of their fear of unseen danger to their lives and properties, they ask that the developers of Saint Francis Subd. show their drain plan for approval by the surrounding house owners and that mitigating measures must be implemented before any bulldozing activity is done on top of the mountain.

In as much as subdivision matters are now within the ambit of the LGUs concerned, I asked them to visit DENR-EMB Director Pepito Moreno, considering that environmental problems are best addressed by technical men.

In fact they should find out from Dir. Moreno if the developers have secured the necessary papers and have paid the right dues.
***
EMB National Director Horacio Cosalan Ramos has now assumed as the first Ilocano-Ibaloi DENR secretary. Probably, he assumes the office as the first career official to be appointed DENR secretary, as all previous secretaries were political appointees.

He was the first RED of DENR Cordillera that was established in 1987. As such, he expects his men in the Cordillera region to help him attain the objectives of the office especially during his watch.

I do hope that Sec. Ramos’ men in the Cordillera, whether they are his relatives, in-laws, close associates or whatever, will lead other regions in achieving the agency’s goals. They must be careful not to put him down.

But Forester Manny Pogeyed, PENRO of Mt. Province, said it better during the salo-salo at Sec. Ramos’ house:

“Kasatnu kan nga agrelax nu ti boss tadta ket sigud nga kadwam ditoy Cordillera? Double-time ketdin ti trabaho.” (How can one relax now that the boss is one of us? Instead, work has become double-time). – marchfianza777@yahoo.com