Who will save our forests?



BIG DEAL By DAN MARIANO

While portions of these forests have been awarded to private logging firms, the rest remains vulnerable to the encroachments of what the DENR refers to as “carabao loggers.”






Not unexpectedly, illegal logging is again being blamed for the landslides and flash floods that have taken scores of lives and displaced thousands of families in several towns in the provinces of Quezon, Nueva Ecija and Aurora. Logs washed down by cascading floodwaters from the mountains were presented as proof that rampant deforestation continues to cause so much human misery in this country.


As in the past, the immediate response of many quarters has been to agitate for the imposition of a comprehensive ban on logging. Yet, if Secretary Michael Defensor of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is to be believed, the municipalities hardest hit by Typhoon Winnie are among the areas where his department has actually imposed a total logging ban.


If what Defensor said was true, then we can immediately conclude that a “total log ban” does not work.


The remaining timberland of the Philippines covers just a little more than 15 million hectares. While portions of these forests have been awarded to private logging firms on the strength of so-called integrated forest management agreements (IFMAs), the rest remains vulnerable to the encroachments of what the DENR refers to as “carabao loggers.”


The government is somehow able to monitor and regulate the operations of IFMA holders. However, it does not have the means to keep tabs on—much less, apprehend—illegal loggers. Since they have been licensed to harvest what has become a valuable resource, IFMA operators tend to take good care of the timberlands awarded to them. And if they want to sustain their highly lucrative business, IFMA holders are naturally predisposed to replant trees to those areas they have logged over.

Defensor pointed out that in areas where IFMA holders operate, landslides and flashfloods—as well as the consequent loss of lives and displacement of residents—have been minimized, if not eliminated altogether.

In contrast, carabao loggers have no incentive to carefully manage this renewable resource. For the most part, they resort to illegal logging as a means to survive from day to day. The population pressure in our country has reached such magnitudes that there are now tens of thousands of “squatters” in what for centuries were pristine forests and jungles.


The cash-strapped government, meanwhile, does not have the means to stem the squatter invasion of our forests. Defensor estimated that in order to prevent carabao loggers from overrunning our remaining forest cover, DENR would have to hire 70,000 forest rangers—each of whom would be assigned to patrol 100 hectares of timberland.


Aggravating the problem of protecting our remaining timberlands is the presence in those areas of communist insurgents who, understandably, are not too keen about the “encroachment” of government personnel into their “territory.”


Needless to say, it’s a mission impossible.


It’s not hard to detect what Defensor was trying to say between the lines. For years, logging companies have been portrayed as indiscriminate ravagers of the environment. And that may have been true in certain cases.


However, current experience—notably the flash floods and landslides that have been occurring with increasing regularity even in those areas where a total log ban is supposed to be in place—tells us that we need to review this image.


It now turns out that licensed—and responsible—logging companies are our last best hope for preserving our remaining forest cover.



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Here is yet another case of irresponsible reporting.


A self-confessed “escort,” who identified herself as Leilani Manansala, comes forward to complain that she was raped by Presidential Adviser Gabriel Claudio. Without verifying her story—and her background—and with only a perfunctory attempt to get Claudio’s side, the print and broadcast media go to town with the woman’s allegation.


All of a sudden, an official who has never before been known to be capable of salacious behavior is portrayed not only as a rapist but also as someone who procures the services of prostitutes.


Days later, the woman is revealed to be a poseur. Leilani Manansala isn’t even her real name, she confesses, but Recheil Trogon. She eventually admits that she had been paid P10,000 to give false witness against Claudio.


Manansala’s, er, Trogon’s confession should have been warning enough for the media to treat this “source” with extreme caution. But, no, the media do not seem to be the least chastened by the bum steer she handed them.


After she blurts out again the names of several people, including former Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) chief Jimmie Policarpio, the media again give currency to what is now turning out to be a very tall tale.


In her recantation, Trogon said the idea of embroiling Claudio in a fictitious scandal came from a tabloid reporter, who in turn told her that Policarpio was somehow involved in the hatchet job. Trogon admitted she had no personal knowledge that Policarpio indeed had something to do with the calumny, nonetheless the media made it appear that she had categorically declared that the ex-PLLO chief was in on it all along.

Even after his former boss, Joseph Estrada, was forced out of the presidency, Policarpio never went into hiding. Like a loyal soldier, he has been trying to do what he can to counter what he describes as “negative propaganda” against the former president. In that capacity, he has continued to cultivate his ties with the media. Not a few reporters, commentators and editors have his number, but surprisingly—or not—only a handful of news organizations bothered to solicit his reactions to Trogon’s accusations. A number of those that did get Policarpio’s side made it appear he should not be believed.


As a result, Policarpio has been kept busy trying to clear his name. In a statement he issued recently, he said he was in the United States attending to the postsurgical therapy of his wife for some time and that he returned to the Philippines only on November 9. The purported rape of Trogon—when she was still known as Manansala—took place on November 4. She filed her complaint with the Quezon City Prosecutors Office on November 17.


Whether or not the authorities ultimately prosecute Trogon for, at the very least, perjury and slander is not yet clear. However, there is no denying that she has done a lot of damage to the reputations of Claudio and Policarpio.


In stunts such as the one Trogon—and her handlers—pulled, the question begs asking: Who benefits from the hatchet job? Unfortunately, in none of the reports and commentary on the alleged rape and the conspiracy to smear Claudio’s name was this matter taken into consideration.



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ABC of San Juan forwarded the following e-mail titled “The Parrot.” It should have been reprinted last week in time for the holiday that Americans call Thanksgiving Day. Anyway, enjoy:


A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.


John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to “clean up” the bird’s vocabulary.


Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder.


John, in desperation, threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.


Fearing that he’d hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer.


The parrot calmly stepped out onto John’s outstretched arms and said: “I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I’m sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior.”


John was stunned at the change in the bird’s attitude.


As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued: “May I ask what the turkey did?”

We should start saving what is remaining in our forest to prevent another Ormoc and Real , Quezon tragedy

do! instead of talk!
Kita mo yang log ban na yan... yong private owned na land pwede pang i-log! read it in Inquirer's issue yesterday! hay! at ang nag-announce eh si Defensor no less relaying the President's Sanction to private land owners who have wooded area na pwede silang magputol ng kahoy nila... and allow the trucks containing logs to pass checkpoints... how do the checkpoints people know which trucks are privately owned and which are not? what the...!