DINGALAN, Aurora – The chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources based in this town has welcomed the creation of an investigating committee to look into allegations of illegal logging activities here as claimed by a local Church-led environmental group.
Joselito Blanco, DENR-Dingalan community environment and natural resources officer, said the creation of a committee that would look into illegal logging as claimed by Task Force Sierra Madre would afford him the opportunity to clear his name.
“The conduct of an investigation on allegations of illegal logging in Dingalan is most welcome. However, the allegations are entirely baseless,” Blanco said in a mobile phone interview.
Earlier, TFSM Dingalan chapter president Gary Lumbo and TFSM chairman, Fr. Pete Montallana asked DENR Secretary Joselito Atienza to create an independent body to investigate illegal logging here where landslides led to the death of 700 people in 2004.They also asked Atienza to remove Blanco for alleged inaction.
They hinted that truckloads of logs, lumber and charcoal were being smuggled out of barangays Ibona, Matawe, Paltic and Umiray since June with permits for the retrieval of logs washed away by the killer floods in 2004 being used to legalize illegal logging.
DENR regional executive director for Central Luzon Regidor de Leon said that while he agreed with the move to create an independent investigating body to look into the TFSM’s allegations, he found it uncalled for to have Blanco removed.
“The DENR is transparent but getting Blanco out of there ahead of the investigation is, I think, unfair,” he said.
Atienza relieved Blanco’s predecessor Meliton Vicente as DENR community officer for southern Aurora over allegations of rampant illegal logging, a claim denied by four local non-government organizations which sought Vicente’s retention to no avail.
Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo said her administration is committed to stop illegal logging at all costs in the province which has one of the largest forest covers among the forested provinces in the country. – Manny Galvez