President Okays Selective Lifting of Log Ban

8/4/2019 President Okays Selective Lifting of Log Ban

1/9

President okays selective lifting of log banMONDAY, MARCH 7, 2005 | ENVIRONMENT

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today approved the selective lifting of the logban, pointing out that thousands of poor families are suffering in areas wherealternative means of livelihood are unavailable.

She stressed, however, that the selective lifting of the ban does not mean arelaxation of the campaign against illegal logging. "We will continue to fightillegal logging as it is one of the roots of corruption," the President said.

In a statement, the President explained that the government will "maintainselective legal logging to maintain precious jobs in communities thriving at themargins of the economy."

She said the selective lifting will be "accompanied by strict enforcement ofpertinent laws and making sure illegal loggers do not take advantage of loopholes

in the selective log ban."

"We will put illegal loggers behind bars while enabling our people to survivewhile we protect the environment and seek alternative means of enterprise andlivelihood," she added.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Michael Defensor said DENR isstudying the possibility of limiting logging operations to two or three regions.

Under this limited logging option, a production forest will be established in twoor three regions while logging will be banned in the remaining 13 to 14 regions,

Defensor said.

DENR has identified CARAGA, Southern Mindanao and Western Mindanao asthe possible areas for "production forest" in line with the new policy direction.

In consonance with the Presidents directive, DENR will review all tenurialagreements, map out privately titled lands, strictly monitor sawmills, review thelog importation system and log supply contract, fix documentation proceduresand rationalize penalties, Defensor said.

Log ban lifted in 3 areasMindanao to supply local needs for wood

First posted 00:26am (Mla time) Mar 07, 2005By Blanche Rivera, Philip Tubeza

Inquirer News Service


2/9

Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the Mar. 7, 2005 issue of thePhilippine Daily Inquirer

LOGGING operations in the country will resume in three regions this

week.

Environment Secretary Michael Defensor said he planned to issue

today a department order lifting the suspension of logging in the

Davao, Caraga and Zamboanga areas.

He said the total log ban would be lifted in Regions 9 and 11, and in

Caraga to meet the country's local wood requirement of 3 million cubicmeters a year.

Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) comprises the provinces of

Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboang del Sur;Region 11 (Davao)

consists of Davao

Oriental, CompostelaValley, Davao del Sur

and Davao del Norte,and Caraga is made up

of Agusan del Norte,

Agusan del Sur, Surigaodel Sur and Surigao del

Norte.

The total log ban willcontinue to be in effect

in the 14 other regionsof the country.

"These (legal logging

areas) will all be inMindanao, no more in

Luzon and theVisayas ... The logging

areas would be open

soon. We will designatewhere the operators can

work," Defensor said during a meeting with Inquirer editors Thursday.

Print this storySend this story

Write the editorReprint this article

View other stories
http://news.inq7.net/common/print.php?index=1&story_id=29641&site_id=16http://news.inq7.net/common/email_story.php?index=1&story_id=29641&site_id=16http://news.inq7.net/feedback/feedback.php?sendTo=16http://ruby.inq7.net/syndication/inquiry/index.php?storyid=29641&headline=Log%20ban%20lifted%20in%203%20areas%20%20%20%20%20http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=29641#other_stories%23other_storieshttp://news.inq7.net/common/email_story.php?index=1&story_id=29641&site_id=16http://news.inq7.net/feedback/feedback.php?sendTo=16http://ruby.inq7.net/syndication/inquiry/index.php?storyid=29641&headline=Log%20ban%20lifted%20in%203%20areas%20%20%20%20%20http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=29641#other_stories%23other_storieshttp://news.inq7.net/common/print.php?index=1&story_id=29641&site_id=16


3/9

The order comes three months after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stopped all logging operations in the country following the flash

floods and landslides that killed hundreds of people in eastern Luzon,mostly in Aurora and Quezon provinces. The landslides were blamed

on logging in the Sierra Madre, the country's longest mountain range.

Defensor said the government could no longer maintain the total logban imposed last Dec. 8 because the law provides for selective logging

in the Philippines.

Anticipating criticism from some politicians and groups, he said:"They're going to sue us if we insist on a total log ban so we came up

with this arrangement. If the lawmakers want a total log ban, thenthey must first amend the law."

He said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

chose to allow logging in the three regions because they enjoyedconstant rainfall, which helps in the natural growth of forests.

"Secondly, the people there are aware of the need for the

sustainability of the forest because that is their livelihood. They knowhow to guard the forest," the secretary said.

Mindanao has only about 20 logging concessionaires, but these are big

companies, according to Defensor.

Even as it allows logging to resume, the DENR vowed to enforce morestringent criteria for legal loggers, including the drastic reduction in

the number of holders of timber license agreements (TLAs).

Only about 20 percent of the 200 Integrated Forest Management

Agreement (IFMA) holders and 320 wood processing plants would be

allowed by the DENR to operate.

Defensor said he had already revoked the licenses of 180 processing

plants found to be serving illegal loggers. About 100 of these are

based in Cagayan de Oro City.

He noted that sawmills with illegal logger clients had proliferated

because the law imposed a penalty of only P1,000 on processing

plants caught transacting with illegal loggers.

Committee validation


4/9

The DENR has formed a new committee to validate the existinglogging concessions in Davao, Caraga and Zamboanga to determine

who would be allowed to start operations.

Defensor intends to tap non-government organizations to help the

DENR in validating the performance of the remaining loggingoperators.

He said he was eyeing the services of Haribon, World Wildlife Fund,Miriam Peace and other environmental groups to help regulate logging

in the three regions.

Of the four options the DENR presented at a press briefing last week,

Defensor said logging limited to three regions was the most viable.

Citing a study by the Asian Development Bank, he said the Philippinesneeded only 1.5 million to 2.3 million hectares of forest for its wood

requirements.

Furniture makers had expressed concern that limiting logging to threeareas in Mindanao could raise the cost of transporting the raw

materials to production sites, mostly in Luzon.

While he admitted that transportation would not be cheap, Defensorsaid the selective logging to be imposed by the DENR this week would

still be cheaper for all stakeholders than importing wood.

Members of the country's furniture industry asked Defensor on Fridayto reconsider the total log ban that was imposed in December, saying

it was endangering the jobs of their 1.8 million workers.

Allow harvesting in plantations

At a forum at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City, Nick de Lange, president

of the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines (CFIP), urged

Defensor to allow timber harvesting in plantations as soon as possiblewhile keeping the total log ban in protected and endangered forests.

He said the CFIP had supported the temporary total log ban when itwas imposed last year.

But the continued imposition of the ban was killing the furniture

industry, according to De Lange.


5/9

"We now call on Secretary Defensor to immediately amend hismemorandum and allow timber harvesting in private plantations. The

prolonged total ban has adversely affected legitimate industries andspared the culprits behind forest denudation -- the illegal loggers," he

said.

The CFIP also asked Defensor to exempt minor forest products, suchas buri, rattan, vines, bark and fibers, because these could not be

replaced by imports.

De Lange said the CFIP was supporting sustainable forest management"for with dead forests, our industry will die, too."

He said selective logging would ensure the continued supply of wood

and other forest-based products to businesses that need them likefurniture makers, housing and construction firms, and paper

manufacturers.

De Lange said lifting the log ban in only two to three areas inMindanao would not solve the problems of illegal logging and dwindling

wood supply.

Shakedown

GMA lifts log ban in Davaoand Caraga

By MIKE U. CRISMUNDO

BANCASI, Butuan City ? President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday

ordered Environment Secretary Michael T. Defensor to lift the totallog ban in the Caraga region and in Davao.
http://www.mb.com.ph/email_to_a_friend.php?id=30218&flnm=http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2005/03/07/MAIN2005030730218.htmlhttp://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2005/03/07/MAIN2005030730218.html#%23


6/9


7/9

The DENR chief also ordered a thorough review and validation of all operations ofholders of CBFM, ISF, TLA, IFMA, and SIFMA areas.

No letup in drive against illegal logging

There would be no letup in the campaign against illegal logging.

This was vowed by President Arroyo yesterday despite her earlier directive to lift theselective suspension of logging operations in the country, notably in Davao and

Caraga.

The President made the pronouncement after authorizing Environment Secretary

Michael Defensor to allow the immediate resumption of logging operations in theCaraga region to meet the national requirements for wood amounting to three million

cubic meters annually.

"We will continue to fight illegal logging because it is one of the roots of corruption,but we will maintain selective legal logging to maintain precious jobs in communities

thriving at the margins of the economy," she said during a media interaction inAgusan del Sur.

Last December, Mrs. Arroyo ordered an absolute ban on logging operations in the

country in an apparent response to indiscriminate logging operations that resulted inthe death and injury of families due to flashfloods and landslides in Quezon and

Aurora provinces.

"I have authorized the selective lifting of the log ban because thousands of poor

families are suffering in areas where alternative means of livelihood are not yetavailable," the President said.

Newspaper reports earlier showed that there are about an estimated 1.8-millionindividuals and 12,500 furniture makers who stand to lose their jobs and earningsshould the government continue with its total log ban policy.

The Chief Executive, however, assured that environmental laws and regulations,

including issuance of commercial logging licenses or permits will be strictly enforcedto stop the indiscriminate denudation of the country?s forest reserves.

"This will be accompanied by strict enforcement of pertinent laws and making sureillegal loggers do not take advantage of loopholes in the selective log ban," she

added.

The President said that the government will continue "to identify, investigate andprosecute" those individuals and firms which are involved in illegal logging operationsall over the country while offering an alternative means of livelihood for those whose

jobs will be adversely affected.

"We will put illegal loggers behind bars while enabling our people to survive while we

protect the environment and seek alternative means of enterprise and livelihood,"she said. (Ferdie J. Maglalang)


8/9

Furniture makers hail partial lifting of log ban

A nationwide association of furniture-makers yesterday welcomed the decision ofEnvironment and Natural Resources Michael Defensor to finally lift the total log ban

in two areas in Mindanao.

But the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines (CFIP) said that while it ishappy the government has finally listened to the furniture industry?s call to lift the

suspension of logging operations and allow selective logging in production forests,the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) should come up with

a more long-term forest management policy that takes into consideration allstakeholders.

CFIP president Nick de Lange said Secretary Defensor should call all stakeholders toa forum to come up with a more decisive and long-term solution to the logging issue.

Environmentalist groups, foresters and representatives of wood-based industries likeCFIP should be included in the stakeholders? forum.

"This is a welcome move," said de Lange, referring to the upcoming lifting of loggingban in Davao and Caraga. He also lauded the DENR for revoking licenses ofreportedly erring timber companies and limiting the number of Industrial Forest

Management Agreements (IFMAs).

"We look forward to seeing all the facts behind Secretary Defensor?s announcementsthat over 180 processing plants have had their licenses revoked for working with

illegal loggers. We also hope to see the real big-time illegal loggers behind bars," deLange added.

He said that as an industry dependent on wood, the CFIP fully supports a decisivebattle against illegal logging and the promotion of a sustainable forest management

policy that would ensure the continued and stable supply of wood and forest-basedproducts.

"Banning logging operations is just one tool in a broad spectrum of options forensuring the future of our forests but the ban itself will not address the problems of

misuse or mismanagement," de Lange pointed out. "Government must have clear,

long term policies that are committed to preserving and conserving our forests. Wein the furniture industry stand ready to help government lay out such a plan."

The CFIP president reiterated his group?s earlier appeal for the government to allow

timber harvesting in plantation forests "not just in Mindanao but also in Luzon andVisayas areas as well."

"With the lifting of the ban in just Regions 9, 11 and Caraga, time will tell if supplycoming from these areas will be enough to sustain the timber needs of the country.

But we doubt if prices will go back to the old levels considering the added cost ontransportation plus the probable continued supply," de Lange said.

Likewise, de Lange said the CFIP is concerned about the plight of the wood-basedsmall and micro-enterprises (SMEs) outside the three regions. SMEs comprise about

80 percent of the 12,500 furniture-makers all over the country.


9/9

"Many small shops are located in areas such as Cagayan Valley, where raw materialshave been so accessible. Will these micro-enterprises be able to make the shift to

timber that is more expensive and less accessible?" he asked. If there are tree farmsin areas outside Regions 9 and 11, they should be tapped to supply downstream

industries in their areas, he said.

Already, the country?s roughly 12,500 furniture-makers are reeling fromskyrocketing prices brought about by the suspension of logging operations lastDecember following the onslaught of disasters in Luzon.

Anti-Illegal Logging Orders Take Effect In Davao Region

Seven months after Department of Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR) Secretary Michael T. Defensor lifted the ban on logging operations inthe Caraga and Davao Regions on March 7, 2005, forestry players find

themselves facing a new set of problems with new anti-illegal loggingmeasures based on Secretary Defensors memorandum dated October 20,

2005.

These recent directives include the cancellation of all existing OperationsPlans and other similar permits and the ban on the movement of

logs/lumber and the processing/milling of stockpiled logs until their sourcesare verified.

These measures were taken because of the documented illegal logging casesin the region and the various complaints raised by some members of

Congress during its hearing on the DENR budget last October 10, 2005.

Those which conduct legitimate logging operations in the area, like PWPA

members C. Alcantara and Sons, Inc.; Baganga Plywood Corp.; San ManuelWood Products Inc.; Mindanao Omega Industries Corp.; and Consolidated

Plywood Industries, Inc., will be penalized for actions they did not commit.

Responding to the memorandum, PWPA appealed to the DENR not togeneralize the implementation of the directive and to consider exempting its

members from the suspension order while the DENRS inspection/evaluationteams perform their work in the region.

In reply to the Associations request, the DENR allowed all wood processing

plants to resume milling operations of their stockpiled logs after verification

of their sources and the issuance of the required certificate of origin of theirmilled/manufactured wood products so that timely transport/shipment could

be made to meet their respective domestic and foreign supply comm

Documents

President Okays Selective Lifting of Log Ban