Metro Reina transhipment point rejected by locals
Congrats to the Bishop, Prelatura of Infanta, Quezon and those opposing to make Real-Infanta area as transhipment for logs in Northern Quezon as reported in a Manila newspaper of 17 October 2006, reproduced below:
Rudy A. Arizala
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Bishop, execs slam use of North Quezon to ship logs
By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Inquirer
Last updated 01:09am (Mla time) 10/17/2006
Published on Page A15 of the October 17, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
LUCENA CITY-A Catholic bishop and provincial officials supported the opposition of the local government unit of Real and the Metro Reina (Real, Infanta, General Nakar) Multi Stakeholders Forest Management Council (MRMSFMC) to the proposal of a big-time logger from Aurora to turn northern Quezon into its transshipment point in the distribution of lumber.
Prelature of Infanta Bishop Rolando Tirona, in a letter to Real Mayor Arsenio Ramallosa, expressed support to the municipal officials' decision to stop San Roque Sawmill Corp. (SRSC) from using the coastal town as an exit route for timber and lumber through the Pacific Ocean.
Provincial Board Member Isaias Ubana II criticized the plan during a hearing called by the committee on environment on Monday.
"It will only open (the town) to more environmental problems in the area," Ubana said.
He said Quezon province and Real town could both legally refuse the request for passage under the Local Government Code.
'Technical smuggling'
Real, if used as a transport channel, might also become a passageway for "technical smuggling" of timber resources from the Sierra Madre, Ubana said.
"There is a hidden agenda behind the plan. For so many decades, those Aurora loggers have been using land routes to transport their products. Why the sudden shift in the mode of transport, which would be too costly for the business?" said Board Member Eladio Pasamba.
Those who attended the committee hearing were surprised when Catholic priest Pete Montallana, chair of Task Force Sierra Madre-Infanta and member of the MRMSFMC, revealed that Environment Regional Director Antonio Principe had already approved the request of SRSC to use Real as an exit point for its forest products.
Montallana said Principe's action was contained in his memorandum to the DENR office in Real town dated Sept. 6.
This was confirmed by forester Joseph Posanso, a representative of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) in Real.