Fiery February draws DENR appeal as police retrieve cadavers

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Dream of a fireless month of March as Benguet Penro officials (provincial environment and natural resources office) seek cooperation from all in the fight and awareness campaign against forest fires that razed almost 900 hectares, 899.53 hectares to be the exact total area, in the province.

Talking to DENR officials lately, they recall that there was in the late 70s a helicopter that was assigned as part of their “quick response” program to fighting forest fires that recur during summer months.

For qualified reasons, dispatching the helicopter where a forest fire is razing vegetation on a mountain somewhere was stopped. It was observed that everytime the chopper came by to unload firefighters, children from a nearby village were already at the scene of the fire and that has put their young lives in danger.

Remember the first time you came very near a helicopter that landed on the open field. That, I think, was exactly what the young mountain boys felt, and to witness a chopper land in front of their eyes. But what was bad as reported was that the innocent kids in few instances purposely put the bushes ablaze just to wait for the choppers to come.

As recently reported by Benguet Penro Ed Flor at a Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council meeting, at least 12 significant forest fires occurred in eight out of the 12 municipalities of Benguet from January to last week, bringing damages to more than P2M.

The widest area at around 643.69 hectares of forest fire occurred in Kabayan, including portions of Mount Pulag and more than 191 hectares of reforestation projects under the National Greening Program and protected forest areas. Other fires occurred in Atok, Bokod, La Trinidad, Tublay, Tuba, Bakun and Kibungan.

Forest fires in the Cordillera and in many mountainous regions in the country is a serious problem. The problem encountered by our forest fire fighters 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. In addition, the mountainous topography in the Cordillera and the lack of accessibility to the fire sites made it difficult for fire fighters to respond.

The Cordillera mountain ranges are covered by a largely pure pine forest. Its forest map has been forced to have another shape. This was because the increase in population in parallel called for an increase in residential settlements, agricultural space and grazing land areas.

All these have compounded the El Niño phenomenon that was already a problem that had no probable solution. Forest fires are an everyday scene in forested mountains of Benguet, Kalinga and Mountain Province that are occupied by pioneering vegetable farmers.

Of course, the other causes of forest fires are lightning discharges and natural combustion blamed on the hot weather. If forests fires in many forests occur at the same time, these cannot be fought when the government in addition to community volunteers is short on forest guards.

Forest protection and fighting forest fires in the region has been tied with 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.

On the one hand, doling out money to hire forest guards, especially those who are not residents where the forest fires occur, destroys the volunteerism in a person who has been acting out his role as a useful citizen to his village.

He may become resentful or may be insulted and may get the feeling of lowliness upon knowing that non-resident forest fire fighters were hired and payed as much as P8,000.

Prior to Duterte’s administration, I remember being informed that the DENR employed “former” rebels as forest guards and were payed as much as P8,000 a month. I am thinking of making the suggestion to Penro Flor that paying volunteers that are community-based might be more meaningful to his appeal for community convergence in fighting against forest fires.

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As we begin writing this weekly column the other day, I receive text messages of a naked male cadaver that was discovered below the ravine near the Lamut-Beckel intersection along Ambuclao Road.

                This could be another possible summary execution, more known as “salvage” (supposedly a wrong word when defined). This is followed by another cadaver, a possible “salvage” victim, found at Costa, Longlong, Puguis, La Trinidad, Benguet.

According to a report posted on the PNP Press Club chat box by Camp Dangwa PIO P/Maj. Carol F. Lacuata, a carpenter who was walking along Mount Costa road discovered the said cadaver that was later identified as John Rabang, a taxi driver.

Meanwhile, the lifeless nude male at Lamut was discovered below the parapet wall by a Beckel Barangay Tanod while patrolling the area.

If the police who retrieved the bodies last Thursday search in the internet news reports of past “salvage” victims, they will come across “Poyopoy” along Marcos Highway, that has become famous because that is where many cadavers are disposed of, until recently.

But with the latest discovery of unidentified cadavers in different sites, it only means that the ravines and road cliffs around Benguet have become “Poyopoys” all.