Some P50 million worth of “hot logs” will be donated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the rehabilitation of Marawi City.
Director Nonito Tamayo of the DENR’s Forest Management Bureau (FMB) said Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has ordered the DENR to prepare the deed of donation for the person who will be tasked to take charge of the rehabilitation.
“The DENR secretary wants us to ready the deed of donation. We are currently conducting an inventory,” Tamayo said.
The ongoing military and police offensive against the Maute Group in Marawi caused massive death and destruction over the past several weeks.
As the military and the police continues to flush out the remaining terrorists out of Marawi, the Duterte administration is readying rehabilitation of the war-torn Islamic City in Southern Philippines.
According to Tamayo, based on initial inventory report he received, at least 1 million board feet of seized wood are available for the donation.
“At P50 per board beet, we already have P50 million worth of lumber. It could be more than that,” he said.
The hot logs to be donated to Marawi City were seized by authorities from all over Mindanao as part of the DENR’s intensified campaign against illegal logging, he said.
“The [DENR] secretary wants us to prepare the donation. As soon as the situation in Marawi improves, we will be releasing the confiscated forest products,” he said.
It has been the practice of the DENR to donate the confiscated hot logs to the Department of Education (DepEd). The hot logs are being used to make school furniture, such as armchairs, desks and cabinets.
“Because the president promised to rehabilitate Marawi, Secretary Cimatu has ordered us to make the donation instead to Marawi,” he said.
The DENR-FMB chief said they are also preparing to donate confiscated hot logs to help the rehabilitation in Leyte province, which was recently hit by a strong earthquake. “But our priority right now is for the rehabilitation of Marawi,” he added.
Lawin Forest and Biodiversity Protection System
According to Tamayo, the DENR has intensified the campaign against illegal logging, particularly in so-called “hot spots” following reports of resurgence of the illegal activities in certain areas.
There are still 20 remaining illegal logging hot spots mostly located in Mindanao, and a few in the Visayas and Luzon, particularly the Sierra Madre Mountain Range.
“We are using the Lawin technology to strengthen our campaign. This is a Web-based forest protection program. We are training our forest protectors using high-tech gadgets,” he said.
The official is referring to the Lawin Forest and Biodiversity Protection System launched on March 10, 2016, in Ilagan Sanctuary, Fuyot Spring National Park in Ilagan City, Isabela.
Lawin is a project of the DENR in partnership with United States Agency for International Development (USaid) through the Biodiversity and Watersheds Improved for Stronger Economy and Ecosystem Resilience Program.
It is an integration of science-based assessment, user-friendly and the use of innovative technology on the monitoring the status of the forest. It provides assistance in environmental monitoring, especially in the forest.
The system allows the communities and environment authority to alleviate the status of the natural forest and also to properly manage the ecosystem against degradation and deforestation.
“We have trained our forest rangers do regular patrols using latest technologies and gadgets,” he said.
Using smart phones or tablets, forest rangers can report threats. The data are received by data managers. Data managers can be housed at DENR regional, provincial, city or municipal offices.
He said the DENR is still working to improve response time.
“When we receive information about a threat, such as illegal logging, what we do is dispatch our people and, using drones, we are able to pinpoint the area,” he said.
The DENR is closely coordinating with the military and the police in their respective jurisdiction.
Forest monitoring
He said even the Community Environment and Natural Resource Officers (Cenros) are required to join routine patrols to boost forest and biodiversity protection efforts.
“All Cenros do regular patrols,” he said. “Right now, our range has reached 40,000 kilometers. All our 1,500 forest rangers do simultaneous patrolling nationwide, he said.
“All forms of forest disturbance, including wildlife trafficking [and], illegal forest occupancy, are also being monitored,” he added.
Cutting of trees, basically, by upland dwellers, is a major problem. Technically, he said, it is timber-poaching.
“They are not large-scale commercial logging; they are timber poaching. Another problem is illegal occupancy of forest and illegal small-scale mining,” he said.
Although forest rangers are unarmed, he said the real-time reporting of the threats makes it possible for the DENR to immediately request for assistance from law enforcers to conduct the operation,” he said.
“In fact, incidences of illegal forest activities have gone down. But there are many Cenro offices, which need to intensify patrolling to increase their range,” he said.
“That is why I have asked our regional offices to make sure that all our employees with the item of forest ranger or foresters are dispatched to do regular patrols,” he said.
Image credits: DENR Strategic Communication and Initiatives Service