Environment officer in Aurora sacked over illegal logging reports

MANILA, Philippines - Environment Secretary Lito Atienza on Monday ordered the immediate relief of an environment officer in Aurora province following reports of revived illegal logging operation in Dingalan town. Sacked from post as Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (Cenro) was Meliton Vicente. He will be replaced by Joselito Blanco, former Cenro for Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija province. Atienza said he ordered the relief of Vicente after he personally confirmed “from independent sources in the area” the report of the Task Force Sierra Madre (TFSSM) about the revived activities of illegal loggers in the area. The DENR chief stressed that Vicente will not only be relieved of his duties, but will also be made accountable for the reported illegal logging in his area of responsibility. “Appropriate charges will be filed against him (Vicente),” Atienza said. Aside from relieving Vicente, Atienza also dispatched a combined team of legal and law enforcement agenst to Aurora in a bid to immediately halt the reported activation of illegal logging in the area. He said he found the report of the TFSM as having “sufficient basis” and, therefore, illegal logging in Dingalan, Aurora must be stopped at all costs while those behind the nefarious activity must suffer the full force of the law. “All steps must be taken to stop illegal logging in Dingalan and other parts of the country. To allow illegal logging to continue is like begging for a catastrophe with epic proportions to happen,” Atienza said. He likewise expressed alarm by reports that a relative of Dingalan town mayor Zenaida Padiernos was linked to the latest incidents of logging activities in the area. He lamented that local executives are being linked to such unlawful activity, noting that local government units (LGUs) are supposed to serve as the DENR’s first line of defense in implementing environmental laws. Aside from Dingalan, Aurora, the DENR chief said the combined team of legal and law enforcement agents from the DENR will be dispatched also in other areas in Central Luzon in order to gather more information about the illegal logging activities in the region, and prompt the government to take necessary legal measure. The illegal logging activities in Dingalan were brought to public attention by Fr Pete Montallana, head of the TFSM’s chapter in Dingalan, Aurora. - GMANews.TV