ENVIRONMENT WATCH

‘Walang plastikan’ for Isabela ladies group
SAN MATEO, Isabela — To minimize, if not eradicate, the widespread use of plastic bags in town, the San Mateo chapter of the Isabela Green Ladies Organization launched Tuesday a campaign it called "Walang Plastikan."

This was intended to discourage indiscriminate use of the non-biodegradable containers commonly used in modern shopping places, public markets and high-end malls.

"The message which figuratively means be true to one’s self literally means no to plastics," said Dr. Crispina Agcaoili, IGLO president and wife of San Mateo Mayor Roberto Agcaoili. A municipal ordinance discourages the use of plastic bags as containers especially in the San Mateo public market.

"While we have a strict garbage disposal system being implemented in our public market and in all the 33 barangays, discouraging the use of plastics will substantially reduce the mounting problem of waste management, not only in our municipality but in the entire country as well," Mayor Agcaoili said.

Because non-biodegrable, plastic bags and similar containers cause problems at garbage dump sites. "Because plastic does not decompose, you can just imagine millions of tons of it covering the earth every minute, every second. What will happen to us?" Doctor Agcaoili said.

The mayor’s wife said that food stalls, variety stores and mobile juice carts using cellophane pouches and sachets in the sale of bottled soft drinks and juices or even hot food and soup were advised to stop the practice.

"Cellophane pouches may look clean, but these could be dangerous to our health because there are unknown chemical elements in them that may react with cold soda drinks or to extremely high temperature of food," Doctor Agcaoili said.

The use of the traditional "bayong" (nipa basket) or rattan baskets, commonly used by rural folk decades ago, is being revived to save the ailing environment. "In our modern times, bayong or basket may initially look awkward, but as the renewed practice goes in full swing, we will get use to it as our official shopping kit.

Besides, we can save money because we will no longer buy every now and then plastic bags which cost from R2 to R5 depending on the size. And as a result, we can clean our dump sites and get rid of eyesores," Mayor Agcaoili said.

Led by the municipal government, civic groups and schools, "Walang Plastikan" is now a byword in the town in both its literal and figurative meaning. – CP


Expansion of Quirino fish sanctuary sought
CABARROGUIS, Quirino -- The municipal government here is poised to push for an expansion of its five-hectare fish sanctuary, following the re-emergence of an endangered soft-shelled turtle there, the Philippine Environmental Governance, a USAID-funded project, said.

EcoGov’s Bing Jaleco said the freshwater turtle, which was last seen in the area seven years ago, was discovered to have resurfaced two weeks ago, boosting biodiversity conservation efforts in Cabarroguis town.

“More than anything else, it shows how sound environmental management and good governance can impact positively on biodiversity, in this case on habitat,” Jaleco said.

He cited the improved governance of Quirino’s forest and forestland resources through the town’s Forest Land Use Plan, which was prepared with technical assistance from EcoGov.

Leo Valdez, municipal environment officer of Cabarroguis, said the freshwater juvenile Cantor’s Giant Soft-Shelled Turtle (Pelochelys cantorii), locally known as cagot, was discovered after it got trapped in the fishnet of a fisherman along Addalam River in Barangay Eden two weeks ago.

The turtle was immediately brought to the municipal agriculturist’s office for proper documentation. Valdez said the Addalam River watershed irrigates rice lands in Cabarroguis, Aglipay and Saguday in Quirino, and nearby towns in Isabela.

He said the site where the cagot was found is part of the fish sanctuary established in the mid-1990s. Intensive quarrying and illegal fishing along the river prompted local leaders to protect the area to enable it to renew and increase fish stocks, Valdez said.

Sectors join to preserveLagawe’s watershed
LAGAWE, Ifugao – The ongoing deforestation of Mount Binahagan, Lagawe’s highest mountain and the source of drinking water for the five barangays surrounding it, has prompted some concerned sectors to join in a tree planting activity and community consultation here initiated by the municipal local government unit last July 12.

Some 1,000 mahogany seedlings and 400 arabica coffee seedlings were planted at the peak of the said mountain by at least 60 participants mostly young people from Don Bosco High School, the Ifugao State College of Agriculture and Forestry, Kiphodan, and Kataguwan. Employees from the provincial government and LGU-Lagawe participated also in the event.

Sharon Sarol of the Lagawe municipal government said the tree planting activity was an advocacy in itself since it heightened awareness on the importance of biodiversity conservation among the youth and the community in line with the concerns on global warming. Sarol said involvement of the young people in the said activity was in commemoration of World Population Day.

“The youth comprises the majority of the world population and involving them in this activity could help change the notion that they could hardly make a difference nowadays,” she said.

“I was worried of any unwanted incident to the participants as we climbed the peak of the mountain but we made it,” she added.

Sarol told the young people that by planting a tree, the person develops his or her nurturing capacity or the ability to care and grow emotionally. She stressed to them that activities such as this help them stay away from destructive activities.

As a response, a Don Bosco student testified that with the activity, she developed a sense of responsibility. She said she was able to prove to herself that she could do something worthwhile.

“Being a student of Don Bosco who stays at Poblacion, I was unaware of the actual situation of the far-flung barangays of Lagawe so I find this activity truly educational,” she said. “At the peak of Mt. Binahagan, I saw how human activities cause the deterioration of the rich natural resources of Lagawe.”

The activity resulted to consultation among elders and residents initiated by Dionisio Umlano Jr., barangay captain of Pullaan, who promised to monitor the planted trees. Encouraged by the positive feedbacks from the participants and the community, Lagawe Mayor Caesario Cabbigat said Mt. Binahagan could be developed as eco-tourism site.

Ifugao Gov. Teddy Baguilat Jr. also said he hoped the activity would be replicated in other municipalities. -- Jeremy M. Gawongna

Sandigan convicts former Quirino governor for graft

CABARROGUIS, Quirino -- The Sandiganbayan has convicted a former governor of Quirino of graft charges in connection with the purchase by the provincial government of second-hand heavy equipment in 1996.

In a 13-page decision penned by Associate Justice Francisco Villaruz Jr., the anti-graft court sentenced former Quirino Gov. Josie Castillo Co to up to nine years in prison and ordered her to indemnify R330, 490.78 to the provincial government.

The amount represents the interest on the illegal advance payment released to Nakajima Trading Co. Ltd., a Japanese supplier.

The court barred Co from holding any government position in the future.

Court records showed that on Oct. 20, 1995, Quirino’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed a resolution authorizing the provincial government to purchase brand new heavy equipment at the recommended cost of R43.5 million to be loaned from the Philippine National Bank.

But in executing the resolution, Co did not follow what was stipulated in the resolution as she caused the acquisition of second-hand heavy equipment worth 160.42 million yen, evidenced by the purchase agreement that Co signed with Nakajima for "reconditioned" units, which include a bulldozer, a backhoe, road grader, a water tank, dump truck, and a 10-wheel trailer truck.

In her defense, Co claimed that she acted on good faith because she made a prior consultation with lawyer Primo Marcos whom she identified as the province’s legal consultant. -- EFP

MORE NEWS, QUIRINO

Nueva Vizcaya bishop remains firm against mining, gambling
By Luis Jose

CABARROGUIS, Quirino – Bayom­bong Bishop Ramon Villena said he is still firm in his stand against mining projects and any form of illegal gambling. Reacting to allegations that Catholic bishops were turning a blind eye to corruption in government, Villena said, “We are relentless as ever in calling for an end to irregularities in government.”

Villena, whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction covers this province and Nueva Vizcaya, was appointed by President Arroyo as chairman of the Regional Development Council of Cagayan Valley. Mining, a priority of the Arroyo administration, has become a controversial issue here, with Villena leading anti-mining groups against the entry of more mining firms in this province and Nueva Vizcaya.

But local officials in Nueva Vizcaya said they supported the mining industry, as the province now hosts three major mining ventures – the Didipio gold-copper project of the Australian-New Zealand-owned Oceana Gold Philippines at the Quirino-Nueva Vizcaya border; the exploration of the British-owned MTL-FCF in Runruno, Quezon, Nueva Vizcaya; and the project of the Australian-owned Royalco-Philippines in the Pao-Kakiduguen area.

Meanwhile, jueteng is no longer rampant here and in Nueva Vizcaya as a result of the relentless drive of the Church against illegal gambling, Villena said. Villena, a ranking official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, denied allegations that he has sought financial favors from President Arroyo.

“I never asked money from the President, and I will never do it,” he said in reaction to accusations by Fr. Robert Reyes, the so-called “running priest,” that some clerics have asked money from Mrs. Arroyo. If he would request for something from the President, Villena said it would be for the poor, not for any personal interest.

In an interview, Reyes claimed that some bishops were benefiting from Mrs. Arroyo’s “financial generosity” and even said that she funded a bishop’s project to build a church. These favors, according to Reyes, are “probably making the Church, especially the bishops, go slow or careful in taking a definite stand and making a categorical statement” against corruption in the Arroyo administration.

Quirino Province reasserts claim on gold-rich barangay

BY LUIS JOSE

CABARROGUIS, Quirino – The provincial government of Quirino is now reasserting its territorial claim for a border barangay that now hosts the multi-billion-peso Didipio Gold-Copper joint project of the national government and its Australian partner Oceana Gold.

This move has however driven a deeper wedge in its relations with mother province Nueva Vizcaya with which it has an almost five decade-old boundary dispute.

Quirino Gov. Dakila Cua said on Oct. 28 they are now taking serious steps to back up their government’s territorial claim over the disputed Barangay Didipio in Kasibu town.

Cua said there are legal and accepted ways to prove boundary claims, like the geographic positioning system, so that the provincial government can exercise its political jurisdiction and claim over the barangay, and likewise for Nueva Vizcaya to give up its jurisdiction over the village.

Didipio is emerging as the region’s prime mining site for the two metals as the village is now being considered as prime gold rush site of Region 1.

The barangay is busy with the large scale mining operation sanction by the national government to prop up the once-moribund mining industry in the country.

The project, expected to generate millions of pesos in local taxes for the host local government unit, was contracted to Oceana Gold Philippines for 15 years.

“We are ready to produce evidence to show that Didipio is within Quirino. We can avail of the modern GPS (global positioning system) satellite survey which shows it is indeed within the boundaries of our province,” Cua said.

For their part, Nueva Vizcaya officials took exception to the move of Quirino officials to reassert their claims over the territory being disputed by the two provinces ever since Quirino’s separation from Nueva Vizcaya in the late 1960s.

“Quirino cannot just unilaterally declare that a certain area subject to boundary dispute is part of its territory. If they want to base the matter on maps, we have also maps that show (Didipio) is in Kasibu,” said Nueva Vizcaya Vice Gov. Jose Gambito.

Dominated by tribal communities, Didipio, around an hour’s drive from this capital town, and about two hours from Nueva Vizcaya’s capital Bayombong town, gained prominence for being the region’s first large-scale mining site, which the national government could generate more than P30 billion in its 15 years of operation, aside from thousands of jobs it would create for the local communities.

The rekindled interest of Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya officials involving the once-obscure and extremely far-flung mountainous village raised fears of a possible return of heated relations between the two provinces.

Cua said old maps show Didipio falls within territory of Quirino and is not part of Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya. The provincial government, he said, would seek the assistance of the national government to mediate and provide technical assistance to have the matter resolved.

MORE NEWS, QUIRINO

Bishop denies giving in to jueteng lords
BY LUIS JOSE

CABBAROGUIS, Quirino – Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena denied rumors he allegedly gave in to jueteng operators, saying the allegations were meant to destroy his good name.

Villena said he has been against al forms of gambling and that his position has not changed a bit.

“I will be coming out with a statement on my stand against all forms of illegal gambling and other evil activities one of these days,” Villena told reporters before before he left for a short trip abroad on Oct. 30.

One of the top contenders to replace soon-to-retire Tuguegarao Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan, Villena denied rumors that he has given in to jueteng operators in his diocese, allegedly in exchange for some assistance for his regular medical consultation for a supposed life-threatening ailment.

According to other rumors, Villena has plans for another special diocesan project which would require huge funding, thus the supposed offer from jueteng operators in exchange for his silence on the return of the illegal numbers game.

“That is a big, big lie,” he said, adding that if he seems to have become silent on jeuteng, it is only because he has been busy with other concerns since he also chairs the Regional Development Council to which President Arroyo appointed him last year.

Villena made the statements in the wake of reports of on-and-off jueteng operations in the diocese.

The feisty bishop said he consulted Senior Supt. Segundo Duran, provincial police director, about the matter.

MORE NEWS, QUIRINO

MGB exec:No Dipidio mining pollution
BY LUIS JOSE

CABARROGUIS, Quirino -- To allay fears that the Didipio mining project in the upland town of Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya would pollute irrigation waters, the Cagayan Valley office of the Mining and Geosciences Bureau said the mining project is safe and will not cause water pollution.

Reacting to negative reports, Cagayan Valley MGB Director Jerry Mangaoang said the Didipio gold-copper project of Oceana-Gold-Philippines at the border of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino Province has been found to be operationally safe.

It was also claimed that the project was in a critical watershed.

Citing provisions of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, Mangaoang defined “Critical watershed” as a drainage area of a river system, lake or reservoir supporting existing and proposed hydroelectric power, domestic water supply, geothermal power and irrigation works, which needs immediate rehabilitation and protection to minimize soil erosion, improved water yield, and prevent possible flooding.

“Through a legislative act, a watershed may become a ‘proclaimed watershed forest reserve” and only then it would be closed to mining,” Mangaoang said.

The Addalam River catchment area covers 86,200 hectares, and the Didipio project, located within the Addalam catchment, covers only 106 hectares or 0.1 percent of the total catchment area. It’s consequent net input into the catchment is neglible, said Mangaoang.

Oceana-Gold-Philippines was granted exploration and development rights to its gold and copper concessions at Didipio.

The project is located at the mountainous and remote border of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino Provinces where the people rely mainly on rice farming, alluvial gold planning and slash-and-burn (kaingin) farming for source of livelihood and income.

The immediate vicinity of the project and a big portion of the valley have long been cleared of trees by logging concessions. While there are still patched of second-growth forest, the trees at the other portions are now being felled to give way to kaingin farming.

The Forest Management Bureau has issued to OceanaGold a certification stating that Didipio does not fall in a government-proclaimed watershed.

“The government, through DENR, would not have issued OceanGold a Financial Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) or Environmental Compliance Certificate if the project fell inside a proclaimed watershed, or a critical watershed,” Mangaoang said.

The land classification of the area occupied by Didipio project is fimberland, alienable and disposable..

Many properties are covered by private titles, and there were no certificate of ancestral domain claims in the area.

The Addalam River Irrigation Project, under construction some 32 km downstream, is expected to be completed by 2010.

“Because the Didipio project is only 0.1 percent of the total catchment area, its operation will have no adverse effect on the irrigation project,” an OceanaGold executive said.

QUIRINO

Financial assistance to farmers mulled after cloud seeding fails to raise water level at Magat Dam

BY LUIS JOSE

CABARRAGUIS, Quirino – The provincial government here is mulling possibility of giving financial assistance to hundreds of farmers in the province who are adversely affected by the ongoing dry spell.

This was after cloud seeding operations failed to raise the water level at the Magat Dam.

Gov. Dakila Cua told local newsmen this was just one of the things his administration was taking into consideration as a way of solving the drought, which was already affected some 400,00 hectares of rice and corn land in the province.

“We are still assessing the damage in the province and we need to actually pinpoint the areas most severely damaged by the dry spell before we can execute a plan of action to solve the problem,” Cua said.

A source from the National Irrigation Administration in the region said results of the ongoing cloud seeding in the region, which began July 28 have not been sufficient to cause any significant rise in the water level of the Magat dam.

“If substantial amount of rainfall is felt in the watershed areas surrounding the Magat dam, then continuous rain from three to five days will make a difference. But as in any cloud seeding process, you are not absolutely sure where the rain will eventually fall,” said Edwin Paion, NIA’s flood forecasting officer here.

Meanwhile, DA regional director Gumersindo Lasam confirmed cloud seeding had started in the region on July 29.

But he refused to make additional comments or to quantify the total extent of damage of the ongoing drought, saying he did not want to preempt Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap on the matter.

Yap had done an evaluation of the Pantabangan, San Roque and Magat dams in Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and Isabela to see the extent of the drop in the water levels of the said dams since the beginning of the dry spell.

“We cannot as yet give any figures on the extent and cost of damage to agricultural cops in the region, but we are consulting on ways to alleviate this matter,” Lasam said.

Cua, son of Quirino Rep. Junie Evangelissta Cua and former Gov. and Rep. Mary Ann Cua, added that if it comes out in their evaluation that providing financial assistance is “the proper thing to do” in order to jumpstart the economic recovery of his farmer-constituents,” then in that case, we will do it.”

Farmers had expressed hope that with the eventual coming of the rains, everything will be solved, including the critical levels in the Magat dam and the resultant intermittent brown-outs brought about by the lack of available water in the dam t run the turbines.

Quirino is one of the hardest hit areas of the Cagayan Valley region, which was aggravated by the reduction of water supply for irrigation from the Magat Dam in Ramon, Isabela, which went down 30 percent.

Meanwhile neighboring Isabela province, the second biggest province in the country, is now considered the top rice and corn producer per hectare in the country, even besting the traditional rice bowl, Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon.

Built during early 1980s, the Magat Dam, once the biggest in the entire Southeast Asia, irrigates more than 150,000 hectares of agricultural lands in Southern Cagayan Valley region, with Isabela the biggest beneficiary of its irrigation water. It also provides at least 500 megawatts of electric power for the Luzon grid.