NOV 18-24, 2010
The officials of Monkayo, Compostela Valley want that their community environment and natural resources officer be transferred and relieved of his assignment for apparently failing to stop rampant illegal logging in the municipality.
The municipal council sent their resolution enjoining the Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment-XI regional executive director Jim Sampulna to cause for the immediate transfer and relief of CENRO Willie Jordan.
The resolution was transmitted by Mayor Manuel Brillantes Jr. last November 8 to the DENR Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje.
The Sangguniang Bayan approved the resolution last August 9 with the reason that Jordan, who has been assigned in Monkayo since December 2002, has not fully implemented the log ban in the municipality even while the mayor has among his administration’s concerns of stopping “rampant illegal logging that caused destruction not only to the environment but the municipality’s farm-to-market roads where the Monkayo local government has been allocating yearly budget for its maintenance and rehabilitation.”
“It is of the belief of the Sangguniang Bayan that the longer Mr. Willie Jordan will stay as CENRO in this municipality the more he could establish intimacy to different sectors especially to loggers,” stated the resolution.
The municipal council further reasoned out that the local chief executive has “lost (his) trust and confidence to Jordan.
Mayor Brillantes has asked top DENR officials to transfer and relieve Jordan as soon as possible.
But in separate interview Yordan said that he would vacate anytime his post if there is an order from the higher up of the DENR.
As of presstime he said he has not yet received any order for his transfer or reassignment.
“If I would vacate now, I’ll be administratively charged of direlection of duty,” he explained.
He also asked understanding from the town officials saying that he has been campaigning against illegal logging in the municipality but since there is a harvest boom of planted and miscellaneous tree species he has no control over the destruction of farm-to-market road in barangays especially in Barangay Casoon that he said were wrought by the passing of many hauling trucks.
He said that in fact the DENR is not imposing transport permits paper when it comes to lumbers and logs of planted species such as falcattas and gmelinas unlike to the hardwood such as narras, lawaan and others.
He said that what is being rewuired for planted species are only certifications from tree farming association.
He also said that there is no logging ban in the municipality saying that it is is only the DENR secretary who can declare it.
“Logging ban cannot possibly be declared in Comval because it is part of the timber corridor where the country gets its source of timber supplies,” he said.
Compostela Valley and the provinces of Agusan, Surigao and Davao Oriental comprise the so-called Timber Corridor.
Yordan said that instead of the logging ban the DENR is actively campaigning for strong anti-illegal logging campaign.
He said that the anti-illegal logging campaign is a “cat and mouse” affair with the illegal loggers operating when the authorities relax their campaign. (Rural Urban News/Cha Monforte)
Filed under: CENRO Willie Jordan, illegal logging in comval davao del norte, CENRO Willie Jordan, illegal logging in comval davao del norte
Recent Comments