Early fires in an election season

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

Through the Philippine Information Agency in the Cordillera, details of a forest fire that occurred last Tuesday within the area of responsibility of the Philiex Mining Corp. was reported.

The incident report identified five casualties namely; Dante Molina, Noel Degiyem, Marlon Guiniguin and Dexter Labasan, all of whom were employed as foresters of Philex, and one resident identified as Leon Mocate.

               The forest fire within the Philex property at Sitio Sal-angan, Ampucao on the boundary of the municipalities of Tuba and Itogon was spotted by residents at around 1pm and was placed under control in the very early hours of the next morning.

Around six hectares of grassland and forest were burned, including the storage area of the Philex Forestry Department that gutted by the fire.

                 The quick responders in the early fire were the Philex Fire Brigade; Itogon, Tuba and Baguio Fire Stations, PEZA Fire Station, PMA Fire Brigade, the PNP of Tuba and Itogon, and residents.  

                The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that March is one of the hottest months here since it is around this time when temperature and humidity reach high levels. The hot dry season usually runs from March to May.

It is within the hot summer months that forested communities should really be on the lookout for fires, in addition to watching out for hot debates that lead to winning local, congressional and senatorial seats.  

Meanwhile, in the senatorial derby, the Timpuyog ti Kordilyera slated among others 2016 presidential bet Mar Roxas, re-electionists Sonny Angara and Cynthia Villar, and former senator Pia Cayetano.

Ex-DILG Sec. Raffy Alunan who, according to Dick Gordon, “has a great mind and a clean record” could have been in the Timpuyog slate. Compared to personalities who do nothing but gain popularity by hitting at their political enemies, I believe Alunan should be in the senate.

By the way the Commission on Elections by this time should be holding more fora on voters’ education. By this, voters, especially the misguided who vote for bets who can give them a few hundred bcks will have something to think about.

If the Comelec or any group can organize such a fora, I am willing to tell the audience that what a candidate is not saying in his political campaigns is exactly the main reason for running!

                In Baguio, only few are running to save the sorry state of the city. All the rest are for their personal interests. We know who they are. The same is true for councilor bets. We have seen how they perform. You can change them all by voting for unfamiliar names.

Back to forest fires, I have been talking to forester friends in the DENR and found out that there was in the late 70s a helicopter that was assigned as part of the agency’s “quick response” program to fighting forest fires that recur during summer months.

But for some reason, sending the helicopter where a forest is burning was stopped. It was noted that everytime a helicopter came by to unload firefighters, children from a nearby village were already at the scene of the fire and that put their lives in danger.

I knew that from experience. As a young boy I remember skipping out from class just to get close to a helicopter that was about to land on the open field. What was not good was that the kids in some instances intentionally put the bushes on fire and waited for the choppers to come.

Forest fires in the Cordillera and in many mountainous regions in the country is a serious problem. The problem encountered by government agencies is that unabated man-made causes such as the kaingin system of agriculture has aggravated it.

                The kaingin system is the utilization of fire for mountain agriculture and grazing. Cordillera mountain ranges are covered by a largely pure pine forest that easily burn during summer.

                 But the Cordillera region’s forest map has changed its shape because of population growth that widens residential settlements, agricultural space, and grazing land areas.

These are facts in the forested areas of Mt. Pulag, Mt. Data, Mt. Santo Tomas and other mountain forests in Benguet, Kalinga and Mountain Province that are occupied by pioneering vegetable farmers. The other causes of forest fires are lightning discharges and natural combustion blamed on the hot weather.

The other problem lies in the capacity to fight forest fires. If forest fires occur at the same time, these cannot be fought when the government in addition to community volunteers is short on fire fighters.

Sometime in 2014, around 530 “former” CPLA (Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army) members were hired by the government as forest guards. Accordingly, each forest guard received a monthly pay of P8,000.

              While the idea of integrating “former rebels” into the fold of the law is welcome, although a not so bright idea, it raises the fact that forest protection and fighting forest fires in the region has been tied with the tradition of volunteerism.

               No money was involved then, except that concerned villages were aware that they only have themselves to blame if their immediate environment was unprotected from fires.

The negative effect of hiring and paying forest guards is that the ordinary volunteer who has been acting out his role as a useful citizen-volunteer to his village becomes resentful and may get the feeling of bitterness. Hope for a fireless month.