DENR Eastern Visayas to train 120 forest guards

TACLOBAN CITY, Oct. 11 -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office will train 120 forest guards combat illegal logging in Eastern Visayas.

DENR assistant regional director Carlito Tuballa said on Tuesday that forest rangers will be trained starting next month on self defense, security protocol, forest law enforcement, monitoring, and investigation.

The 120 forest guards are assigned in 11 Community Environment and Natural Resources Offices in the region. They have been deployed in areas with armed illegal loggers and communist rebels.

The DENR regional office is eyeing on the possibility of arming its forest rangers, once approved by their central office.

Since forest guards are unarmed, they are assisted by military and policemen not only to monitor large-scale logging, but timber poaching committed by informal settlers near the forest.

“We are taking action to protect our forest guards against those armed illegal loggers operating in our forest areas,” Tuballa said.

In Marabut Samar alone, the DENR regional office is aiming to preserve the 15,430 hectares forest areas as eco-tourism destination and not for logging.

The DENR also hired lawyers this month to strengthen its legal muscle and speed up the resolution of lower level cases, including land claims and disputes. They will also help forest guards prepare legal documents and after post-operation reports.

Eastern Visayas region has a total land area of 2,143,169 hectares, of which 1,118,214 hectares are established as forestland and 1,024,955 hectares are alienable and disposable lands. 

Per 2011 Philippine Forestry Statistics, the region has a total forest cover of 519,848 hectares or only half of the established forestland. (Jazmin Bonifacio/PNA)