CONVERGENCE AT THE (MALACHI) RESORT IN BRGY. BATICAN
By Pol Derilo
Infanta, Quezon, October 5, 2007 - From NQCC compound on the north and Langgas junction on the south, hundreds of dissenters marched towards each other along the national road and converge just outside the gate of Malachi Restaurant in Barangay Batican. Their objective is to get across their message that both legal and illegal logging are no longer tolerable in Sierra Madre.
The march was timed to synchronize with the opening ceremony at 8:00 a.m. of the purported public consultation regarding the forest management agreement between DENR and Timberland Forest Products, Inc. owned by Wilson Ng.
The participants from the 3 RIN towns were from the different POs, NGOs, LGUs, Mt. Carmel HS, NQCommunity College, various religious groups and indigenous sector
The growing intolerance on logging stem from reports that there is continuous and seemingly unabated cutting of trees in the Sierra Madre forests. The public sentiments currently point not only towards a total ban but the cancellation of the IFMA agreement with Ng. Appeal will soon be handed over to the new secretary of DENR Atienza for this purpose.
Though Ng’s IFMA was issued since 2002, he was unable to implement it due to oppositions specially during former secretary Reyes’ tenure and because of the 2004 calamity. Its renewal was granted though through backdoor maneuvering with Malacanang during Mike Defensor’s term in March 2005, four months after the flood. With secretary Atienza now at the helm, new efforts to resurrect it is being pursued.
Efforts by Ng’s consultant, Mr. Rosario of Environway Consulting firm, to tag the group to be party to the discussion inside the Malachi compound proved futile when he was tactfully told about the group’s simple message:
“IBASURA!!! IFMA No. 2002-2007 ng TIMBERLAND FOREST PRODUCTS, INC. in WILSON NG.”
No amount of any scooping/consultation was solicited from the vigilant crowd. It is the group’s position that any amount of participation in the consultation is unnecessary unless their demand of stopping any logging is declared by Timberland Forest Products, Inc. This consultation process seemed to be a prerequisite before the IFMA can be implemented further. On the side of the environmentalists however, the logging concession is doomed unless big money mysteriously fall into the cracks and crevices of governmental bureaucracy. This is the dreadful fact that they feared most - if morailty among those concerned does not prevail. Any vigilance, appeals and reasons would be futile if weaknesses of human standard are not overcome.
It is the belief of the group that the true stake holders of RIN are all those people who were directly or indirectly affected by the calamity of November 29, 2004. It is therefore in their public interest that this incident be prevented for the present and future generations. Four highlights of the appeal to Secretary Atienza of DENR includes the following to attain this objective. They are:
1) Cancellation of IFMA 2002-2007 issued to Wilson Ng;
2) Stop illegal logging and implement a 25-year logging moratorium to enable the forest resource to regenerate; consequently, declaring the whole forest reserve as protected area;
3)Unify and organize all stake holders to adopt a comprehensive environmental development program; and
4)Formulate and Implement a selective logging program when the 25- year moratorium expires with the stake holders given preferential rights.
The reactivation of this logging issue is the latest that Task Force Sierra Madre faces. It can be recalled that the campaign to oppose the construction of two dams in Gen. Nakar is still going on. RIN area is fortunate in having organized groups in various sectors of the stake holders. They are the dynamic forces who does not hesitate to confront threats on the environment in RIN area. Task Force Sierra Madre gratefully recognized their unified expressions of dissension to greed and narrow personal interests of unscrupulous capitalists.
As feedback and reaction to the appeal that we plan to forward to Sec. Atienza, please send to my email address: himpilanko@yahoo.com.ph Thank you.