Cagayan council ups drive vs illegal logging

By Leander C. Domingo

TUGUEGARAO CITY -- The Cagayan Valley Regional Law Enforcement Council intensified monitoring and surveillance operations against illegal forest activities particularly in "hot spot areas" in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley).
    Relec Chairman Gwendolyn Bambalan recently convened the council citing importance of trees in ensuring sustainability of life forms and in mitigating global warming.
    Bambalan said there is a need to focus their operations in the towns of Baggao and Peñablanca in Cagayan province and Jones in Isabela province.    
    "While we cannot avoid apprehending and confiscating unauthorized forest products passing through the region, it is best to stop cutting down trees in the forest," said Bambalan, who is also the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 2 executive director.
    During the meeting, DENR Enforcement Division chief Joel Daquioag presented their accomplishments for 2022, including 105 joint apprehensions by the DENR and Philippine National Police (PNP) and a total confiscation of 59,218.44 board feet of forest products and 41 conveyances.
    To renew the commitment of council members to this year's forest protection and law enforcement implementation programs, DENR Region 2 legal chief Richard Jayson Garan presented and facilitated the review of duties and responsibilities of council members to include the Philippine Air Force and Land Transportation Office.
    Bambalan also recommended a review of DENR policies through the conduct of reorientation on DENR Administrative Order (DAO) 97-32 known as "1997 Rules for the Administrative Adjudication of Illegal Forest Products and the Machinery, Equipment, Tools and Conveyances used in Connection Therewith."
    She said they will be inviting all chiefs of police and representatives from the different municipalities and cities in Cagayan Valley which comprises the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Batanes.
    According to Bambalan, the inclusion of Relec activities in the Regional Development Council Sub-Committee has been proposed to the council.
    "This is to further discuss a strategic mechanism to curb illegal forest activities," she said.
    Also at the meeting were DENR Region 2 Assistant Executive Director for Technical Services Marcos Dacanay, who discussed the meeting's objectives, and lawyer Johnlee Rumusud of the DENR Legal Division, who explained the salient features of DAO 97-32.
    It was in 2020 when Relec was established under a memorandum of agreement among the regional heads of concerned national agencies and the religious sector, including the DENR, PNP, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Information Agency, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of Justice, National Bureau of Investigation, and the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao.
    "The creation of this council aims to protect and conserve our trees. The council members play a vital role in protecting our forests," Bambalan said.