POSITION PAPER RESTORE THE ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY OF NORTHERN NEGROS NATURAL PARK NOW! The forest cover of Negros is already in a critical state since the 70s when big logging corporations started to clear much of the province forest areas. The entry of development projects such as the geothermal plant of then Philippine National Oil Corporation now Energy Development Corporation or EDC including community activities such as kaingin has further exacerbates the degraded carrying capacities of Negros forests and its ecological services. The recent blunder to the forests of Negros is the excessive acquisition of vast areas of land inside the protected area and natural park. This private ownership and landlordism is an insult to the National Integrated Protected Areas System Law or NIPAS and a threat to human security. The private ownership and landlordism inside the Northern Negros Natural Park comes resulted to the mushrooming of illegal structures inside the natural park specifically in Patag in Silay, Gawahon in Victorias and Don Salvador Benedicto. Most of the illegal structures sits inside the protected area and ironically are owned by prominent individuals and politicians. Finally, after years of raising the issue, the Provincial Governor and the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) made a stand to the issue. The Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Negros Occidental welcomes this development and strongly support the actions being taking recently on the illegal structures inside the NNNP. Thus, the CSOs supports the; • The cease and desist order issued by the PENRO against two mayors and 38 other personalities for allegedly encroaching into the 107.77-hectare of the protected zone of the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP). PENRO also served the cease and desist orders to Mayors Jose Max Ortiz of Don Salvador Benedicto and Andrew Montelibano of Murcia. • Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. in his statement that there are no sacred cows in the order. Ally or not, if they encroached on the protected area, they should keep out and should stop the construction of structures on the protected zone. • Provincial Legal Officer Jose Maria Valencia in lambasting the local chief executives to be the ones who violates the laws first rather than protecting it. Further, the CSOs strongly endorse the recent recommendations of the Technical Working Group (TWG) of PAMB which include; • Illegal occupants are to vacate and illegal structures are to be demolished in accordance with Article 449, 450, 451 of the Civil Code of the Philippines and Section 21 of the Republic Act 7586 (NIPAS); • Illegal structures outside of hazard zone shall be utilized for public use as maybe determined by the PAMB; • Habitation and other structures of legal occupants within the hazard zone shall vacate as per RA 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act as soon as possible or face the consequence of the law; While we strongly support the actions of the Provincial Governor, PENRO and the TWG of PAMB on the illegal structures, we also urged that they pursue and implement their commitments and recommendations the soonest time possible. Rest assured that we will not stop our vigilance on the issue as long as the commitments of the Provincial Governor, PENRO and PAMB to vacate illegal occupants and demolish the illegal structures in NNNP will be realized. END PRIVATE OWNERSHIP AND LANDLORDISM IN NEGROS FORESTS! (SGD) Fr. Ernie Larida Social Action Center – Diocese of Bacolod (SGD) Junjun Mojica Green Alert Negros (SGD) Atty Andre Si DAWN Foundation (SGD) Priscilla Goco FDC-Negros (SGD) Auke Idzenga AID-Foundation (SGD) Rafael Burdeous DIHON (SGD) Ted Lopez Alter Trade Foundation (SGD) Edwin Baladia PRRM-Negros (SGD) Duds Locsin PSPN (SGD) Jack Pamene Pax Cristi Negros (SGD) Griderick Alila PRRYA
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 00:54:33 +0000
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