City of San Fernando—Army troopers will be patrolling the forested areas of Bulacan to prevent any activities of illegal loggers and protect the remaining forest from further exploitation by enterprising individuals.
This after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Central Luzon and the Philippine Army First Scout Ranger Regiment stationed at Camp Tecon in San Rafael, Bulacan, forged a memorandum of agreement calling for the protection and development of the remaining forest in the province.
Army Lt. Gen. Jose C. Faustino Jr., Commanding General of the PA vowed to strengthen the forest protection efforts and further develop portions of the area under the greening program of the government. Jess Malabanan
“The agreement will further strengthen the alliance between the DENR and FSRR to foster environmental protection and end once and for all the illegal logging here in Bulacan,” he added.
Paquito Moreno, Jr., executive director of the DENR in Central Luzon, said the Army troopers will assist DENR in the campaign against anti-illegal logging in the Sierra Madre mountain range portion of the province and the implementation of the National Greening Program.
“The support of the Philippine Army is a big boost in our anti-illegal logging campaign. They have been our steady and reliable partner in the enforcement of forestry laws. And this time they will also assist us in the protection and maintenance of established projects of the NGP,” he explained.
He said this partnership will surely help prevent the actual cutting of trees in the forest instead of the traditional approach of apprehending suspected illegal loggers while transporting forest contrabands.
“Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu’s order to us is to prevent the cutting of trees to ensure the survival of our forest,” he noted.
Under the agreement, the DENR will survey the identified 14-hectare land for the jungle-based and training detachment of the FSRR in Kalawakan village in Dona Remedios Trinidad town.
The DENR will also provide the FSRR the necessary training in the implementation of NGP including seedling production and plantation protection and maintenance.
Meanwhile, the DENR has also awarded a special patent covering some 49 hectares to the Camp Tecson of the PA as part of the “Handog Titulo” program of the government and under the DENR administrative order No. 2016-21 also known as the guidelines governing the processing of the request for proclamation and issuance of Special patents over agricultural lands.