Malacañang mulls implementation of total log ban

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino is mulling the implementation of a total log ban nationwide following the massive flooding and landslides that hit several areas in the country.

“There must be a long-term intervention to all these flooding. Actually, I’m thinking of a total log ban everywhere in the country,” the President said yesterday during the briefing on the extent of damage wrought by continuous rains in Albay the past 22 days.

The President said continued illegal logging had caused the communities to lose their protection from flooding and landslides.

Aquino, who visited Butuan, Albay and Southern Leyte yesterday to check on the victims of flooding and landslides, said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently found illegal logs dumped in a river that almost filled the waterway.

“At a time when floods were hitting them, they continue to cut trees that were supposed to save their communities. That is what we’re going to stop. So by Monday, I’m hoping the executive order will be ready, that will drastically cut down the problem of illegal cutting of logs,” he said.

The details of the President’s plan, however, were not yet clear as of yesterday.

Lawmakers blocking log ban bill

There have been several proposals in Congress in the past for a total log ban, which will include commercial logging. But lawmakers who are in the business of commercial logging are allegedly the ones blocking the passage of a total log ban bill.

On Thursday, Aquino vowed to go after illegal loggers, citing the denudation of forests as major reason why many people were suffering from extreme flooding and landslides.

“I think we’ll be making the announcement with regard to logging. As you know, the (trees) are our first (defense) against all these flooding and it pains me that illegal logging continues,” he said, adding that he met with Environment Secretary Ramon Paje to discuss the matter.

“He (Paje) just showed me pictures of the recent devastation in an area that was already subjected to flooding. So we will take very strong action,” the President said.

All proposals, but where’s the beef?

Various lawmakers have recently revived proposals for a total log ban to preserve what is left of the country’s forests and prevent an ecological disaster since tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng” hit the country in 2009.

Several bills have been filed seeking to stop the unabated denudation of forests, which aggravated the floods that submerged Metro Manila and several provinces in Luzon and triggered landslides that caused widespread loss of lives and property.

There were those seeking to impose a total ban on commercial logging from 25 to 35 years.

However, based on reports, these proposals had been filed as early as 1988 but were not acted upon.

Former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. had earlier said that the executive branch could cancel logging permits, dismantle huge fish pens in Laguna Lake and other bodies of water that impede the flow of water to the sea.

“It is a matter of political will really, because the laws are already there,” Pimentel said in pushing for his proposal.

He said that although public sentiment had favored a total log ban, it would still be a tall order to have such legislation approved by Congress because of the powerful logging lobby.

Pimentel said the critical state of the country’s forests was graphically illustrated in the heavy flashfloods during typhoons, soil erosion and landslides, siltation and drying up of rivers and other inland waterways, depletion of groundwater resources and shrinking wildlife.

The forests, he stressed, should have a respite from logging for at least 25 years – the length of time it would take for hardwood trees to mature and for the country to regain its lost forest cover.

Of the country’s 15 million hectares of forest at the start of the 20th century, less than seven million hectares are left, including 800,000 hectares of virgin forest.

About 200,000 hectares of forest are destroyed annually through legal and illegal logging and slash-and-burn farming, according to the DENR.

Other lawmakers said despite catastrophic flashfloods like the ones in Ormoc, Leyte, Mindoro and Davao, intensified logging continued.

They also said deforestation would account for 18 percent of the carbon dioxide produced each year, causing global warming and posing risks to forests via increased fires and the spread of pests.

P-Noy taps government resources

The President arrived in Legazpi City in Albay yesterday morning to oversee the extent of damage and check on the progress of the concerned agencies on the ground in assisting the affected residents.

The prolonged rainfall in Albay and Sorsogon provinces in the Bicol region damaged lives, property and vital infrastructure, prompting the President to order the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to repair or replace damaged infrastructure the soonest possible time.

He also ordered the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to assist the 3,199 farmers whose crops were destroyed by the rains, the economically displaced households and evacuees.

The President also said that the replacement or augmentation of Albay’s calamity fund would be studied.

At the same time, Aquino congratulated the local government officials, military and other concerned agencies for their timely forced evacuation efforts that saved lives.

During his visit, the President also turned over relief goods that included relief packs, hygiene and first aid kits to Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, who expressed gratitude to the President for taking time out from his busy schedule to visit the province.

Salceda said the President gave immediate resolution to his appeal for support for non-evacuated economically displaced households totaling some 4,241 as well as to the displaced farmers.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the damage to property, infrastructure and agriculture caused by floods and landslides in parts of Bicol, Visayas and Mindanao in the last two weeks has reached P1.2 billion, while displaced families totaled 262,107 or 1,355,229 persons.

Death toll has reached 42, with eight injured and five missing.