Controversy hounds release of DENR exec

CAMP RAFAEL RODRIGUEZ, Butuan City — Controversy hounds the release of "abducted" Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Technical Director Christopher Kuizon yesterday after law enforcement agencies, the lumads and the government sector cannot explain his disappearance for five days.

During the press conference, Kuizon, 56, claimed he was just invited for "talks" by the Bongkatol Liberation Army (BLA), an armed group of the lumads.

Earlier, the family of Kuizon in Buenavista, Agusan del Norte reported to the police that the DENR official was "abducted" by six unidentified armed men at his residence last Saturday evening while the family was having dinner.

Police Senior Superintendent Edgar Deramas, deputy police regional director for administration, said the PNP is still investigating the incident and will study the legal options whether to file kidnapping charges against the BLA.

Deputy Police Regional Director for operations, Senior Superintendent Edgar Wasawas Agustin, for his part, said that it is up to the victim if he will file charges or not.

Agustin, Kuizon and another DENR official, lawyer Pacquito Rosal, signed an agreement with the lumad rebels last night in a tribal ritual that neither the government nor Kuizon will file charges of kidnapping.

Kuizon was among the other 14 DENR regional officials and personnel who were "arrested" by the BLA. Former DENR Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer Victoriano Vidal, consultant of the Tribal Coalition of Mindanao (TRICOM) , defended the lumad’s decision to "arrest" Kuizon, saying that the tribal group are merely following customary tribal laws under the Indigenous People’s Rights Acts (IPRA).

Kuizon, in an exclusive interview with The STAR, said he will work for the demands of the lumads, which are all centered on creating livelihood opportunities for people living in the uplands.

"There is no use for me to file charges as it will only create more division and trouble. I think it’s about time that government workers must really "interact" with the different groups of people and not just sit in their airconditioned offices," Kuizon said.

"My five days with the lumads, listening to their ordeals and their sad plight, is a valuable lesson not only for myself but for the rest of the bureaucracy," Kuizon added.

The lumads have demanded more naturally grown trees to be cut in their "ancestral domain claims," saying that while big logging companies were allowed to cut thousands of cubic meters of naturally grown trees in the forest, the tribal group were only allowed 500 cubic meters under the Community-based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA).

"Because of this, we are complaining and we have resorted to this because we were not given attention by the government since the time of Marcos and up to present dispensation," the tribal council of elders said.

However, sources from government institutions claimed that the lumads were being fed with the wrong information and were allegedly being used by capitalists from Butuan City and nearby provinces.

"They enticed lumads and even financed their ancestral domain claims, hoping that once it is released to the lumads, the bonanza of cutting trees for commercial purposes will be an open sesame," sources said.