TRANSFORMATION. Former rebel combatants of RPA-ABB-TPG turned into forest managers and are engaged in tree seedlings production activities in the province of Aklan (inset photo); President Rodrigo Roa Duterte led the decommissioning of the more than 300 firearmssurrendered by the former rebels on September 19, 2019 at the 3ID, PA, Camp Peralta, Jamindan, Capiz (above photo); DENR 6 RED Francisco E. Milla looks at the surrendered firearms prior to the start of the program at Camp Peralta (bottom photo).

The recent decommissioning of firearms of former combatants of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade–Tabara-Paduano Group (RPM-P/RPA/ABB-TPG) was a long, tedious work and a collaboration of efforts from different national government agencies.

As former rebel combatants, they were always on the run for their lives. But finally they got tired, and had a peace talk with the government. The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) listened to the plea and had embraced them through the PAMANA Program. An acronym for PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn, PAMANA began in 2012 with eleven national government agenciesimplementing the program.

One of the elevenis the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) who had made socio-economic interventions in pursuing the peace process with the former rebel combatants of the RPM-P/RPA/ABB/TPG.

Here in Western Visayas, the DENR implemented PAMANA program by hiring members of the former rebel combatants to work as Forest Guards (FGs) in reforestation project specifically in National Greening Program (NGP) sites. The DENR 6 worked real hard to grant them their Peace and Development Communities (PDC) sites and provided sustainable livelihood in contracting them under the NGP.

From being society’s menace, they become some of the most productive citizens of this country. How did that happen?

As DENR–PAMANA beneficiaries in the province of Antique province, twenty two (22) of them were hired and worked as staunch forest guards, whose presence had proved to be a strong deterrence to illegal tree cutters in the towns of Culasi and Belison. Their presence thereby helped protect and conserve the province’s natural resources.

Since becoming beneficiaries in 2014in Aklan province, the group had produced a total of 390,390 seedlings. The group, now known as Kapatiran para sa Progresibong Panlipunan, Inc. as part of their institutional transformation, had signed a total contract cost worth Php 6,214,970.00 since 2014 up to the present. They maintain plantation in three upland sites namely: in Ibajay, Tangalan and Nabas, and has planted commodities ranging from timber and indigenous tree species to agroforestry and high value crops.

A total of 57.51 hectares of land situated in the town of Ibajay now served as their PDC site or settlement area. It was made possible through the tenurial instrument called Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA) which was awarded to them on April 25, 2018. The CBFMA is an agreement between DENR and Kapatiran which allows them to develop, utilize, manage and conserve a specific portion of the forestland consistent with the principles of sustainable development.

In Negros Occidental, they were granted their settlement areas which are also covered by the CBFMA and are located in Kabankalan City with an area of 179.64 hectare (ha.) and with 80 beneficiaries; Cadiz City, 232 ha., with 73 beneficiaries; and San Carlos City, 230 ha. with 180 beneficiaries. Last November 2018, the Negros group was able to produce 112,000 seedlings and continued maintaining and protecting 225 hectares of forestlands. Under the PAMANA–NGP, they were able to establish plantations with a total of 540 hectares in the hinterlands of Cadiz and Kabankalan. They are also instrumental in assisting DENR forest rangers in their LAWIN foot patrol and in law enforcement activities.

After years of returning to the fold of the law, their efforts are paying off. The decommissioning of their more than 300 firearms last September 19, 2019 at the 3ID, Camp Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz was a step closer to the completion of the peace pact. As the struggle continues, the DENR and all other national government agencies will continue to work for these former rebels to attain the peace and development they too deserve – for them and their families.

“With your PDC sites, we will help you build your community. Now you can live in peace among one another and start your economic activities. We wanted you to pursue sustainable development while we also ensure your safety,” said Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, who is also the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for Western Visayas.

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Published: 24 September 2019

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) has issued an interim Cease and Desist Order (CDO) to BoracayTubi Systems, Inc. (BTSI) for discharging wastewaterthat tested positive for fecal coliform in the waters of Boracay Island.

The wastewater discharge was traced from BTSI’s one (1) kilometer outfall pipe from Lugutan area in BrgyManoc-Manoc in the island to Sibuyan Sea. Sinkers were placed on the outfall pipe to secure it and prevent it from floating. It was found to be almost 13 kilometers below the water surface.

The interim CDO was issued on Sept. 21,2019 by EMB Western Visayas Regional Director Atty. RamarNiel V. Pascua and shall be effective for seven (7) days unless confirmed by the Pollution Adjudication Board in such case it shall become a regular CDO.

“I have made it clear from Day 1 that no one is above the law,” said Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu adding that,“all environmental laws have to be strictly enforced because their primary purpose is to protect our environment and natural resources.”

“We will appropriately deal with the people responsible for this violation,” stressed Cimatu who is chair of the Boracay Inter-agency Task Force created by President Rodrigo RoaDutertethrough Executive Order 53 to reverse the degradation of Boracay Island.

In an inspection conducted by personnel of EMB, an outfall pipe was seen to be discharging a large volume of yellowish water.

Laboratory Analysis results revealed that fecal coliform and phosphate from the water sample and residue taken have exceeded the General Effluent Standards maximum allowable limit for Class SC marine water body per DENR Administrative Order No. 2016-08 or the Water Quality Guidelines and Effluent Standards of 2016.

The sample collected had a fecal coliform of 3,500 most probable number per 100 ml (MPN/100ml) against an effluent standard for Class SC water of 400 MPN/100ml. On the other hand, Phosphate was at 2.250 mg P/L against the standard of one (1) mg P/L level.

Earlier, a video of a pawikanor sea turtle sticking its head into the pipe outlet was posted in social media by a Korean diving instructor.

On August 14, 2019, DENR Secretary Roy A.Cimatu gave instructions to cordon off the beachfront area in Station 1 after two female foreign nationals—one allowing child to defecate in Boracay’s waters and the other burying a used diaper in the white sand – also circulated on social media.

BoracayIsland was ordered closed by President Rodrigo RoaDuterte in April 2018 after he described its water as a cesspool. The famous island reopened in October 2018 after a six-month rehabilitation.

Boracy Island is surrounded by Sibuyan Sea in the east and Sulu Sea in the west.

BTSI is one of the two water utility companies in Boracay Island. ###

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Published: 22 September 2019

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) urged the public anew to stop throwing trash into waterways to help address the growing problem of marine pollution.

The appeal was made as the DENR led yet another successful cleanup of Manila Bay and its tributaries on Saturday during the local observance of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day 2019.

Thousands turned up in various cleanup sites around the Manila Bay region for this year’s ICC event dubbed as “Battle for Trash-Free Manila Bay.”

According to DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, all cleanup efforts will be in vain if the public continue with their habit of indiscriminate dumping.

“Ang nais po namin ipabatid sa inyo, itong cleanup na ginagawa natin taun-taon ay maganda po ito, pero ang kailangan natin isaisip at isaulo ay dapat matigil ang paglalagay ng basura sa ating mga katubigan,” Cimatu said in his message conveyed by DENR Undersecretary and Manila Bay Task Force Ground Commander Juan Miguel Cuna.

“Maaari po tayong gumawa ng cleanup taun-taon pero kung tuloy-tuloy ang pag-load natin ng pollution sa ating mga katubigan, sayang ang ang hirap natin,” Cimatu pointed out.

Cimatu said that behavioral change among Filipinos is needed to clean up Manila Bay and all other water bodies in the country.

The environment chief nevertheless thanked all the volunteers and encouraged them to do daily cleanup activities and practice recycling and waste segregation to combat marine pollution.

For ICC Day 2019, top officials of the DENR were assigned to lead cleanup efforts in different water bodies in Metro Manila as part of the rehabilitation programs “Battle for Manila Bay” and “Battle for Rivers and Esteros.”

Cuna led the cleanup in Baseco in Tondo, Manila where some 6,000 volunteers were recorded.

Aside from the Manila Bay coastline, cleanup activities were also held in esteros and waterways that drain into the pollution-challenged bay.

The DENR noted that following the natural flow of water, pollution from the upstream—including the esteros—will only quickly replace the solid waste removed from the coastal areas.

DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda was in Navotas Centennial Park where close to 3,000 volunteers showed up, while Undersecretary Rodolfo Garcia was in Tumana, Marikina City, Assistant Secretary Marcial C. Amaro, Jr. in Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area, and Environmental Management Bureau Director MetodioTurbella in Estero de Tripa de Galina in Parañaque City.

Together with Rotary International District 3780 and around 500 volunteers, Undersecretaries Jonas Leones and AnalizaRebuelta-Teh installed a trash trap made from plastic bottles and fishnet along Tullahan River in Novaliches.

Last February, President Rodrigo RoaDuterte issued Administrative Order No. 16 designating Cimatu as chair of the inter-agency Manila Bay Task Force, with the secretaries of the Department of Tourism and the Department of the Interior and Local Government as vice chairpersons.

During the ICC event, the DENR was joined by volunteers from local government units, private organizations, industries, the academe and other stakeholders in cleaning up Manila Bay and its tributaries.

The kind and number of garbage collected from each site is recorded and weighed for submission to Ocean Conservatory, a Washington-based environmental group that spearheaded the first coastal cleanup in 1986. The group will validate the report and consolidate it with those from other participating countries.

Through the annual ICC, Ocean Conservatory hopes to find solutions to threats in oceans and waterways around the world. ###

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Published: 22 September 2019

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is spearheading another massive cleanup of the historic Manila Bay on Saturday (Sept. 21), as the nation joins the rest of the world in observing the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day 2019.

More than 15,000 volunteers are expected to join the simultaneous cleanup activities within the Manila Bay region and in river systems that drain to Manila Bay.

DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said the local observance of the ICC Day 2019 is a “very timely event” to conduct another cleanup drive in Manila Bay with the same magnitude as the first one held early this year.

It will be recalled that last January 27, over 10,000 people took part in the massive cleanup that marked the launch of the rehabilitation program dubbed as “Battle for Manila Bay.” Since then, cleanup activities have been held in various esteros and other water bodies that drain into the bay.

Cimatu said the event on Saturday aims to sustain the momentum of restoring Manila Bay to its former glory, an effort that enjoys the support of all stakeholders from both public and private sectors.

“We are continuing the mission of cleaning Manila Bay in time for this year’s ICC Day celebration—an activity close to the noble purpose of rehabilitating this historic bay—so that the future generations can still witness its splendid glory,” Cimatu said.

DENR cleanup sites are in Bgy. 649 in Baseco, Manila, the coastal areas of Navotas Centennial Park, and the river systems of Tullahan-Tinajeros and Marikina River which drain to Manila Bay.

Other cleanup sites include the Navotas Tanza Marine Tree Park;Las Piñas- Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area; By the Bay Central Park in SM Mall of Asia and Gloria Maris, CCP Complex in Pasay City; and Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

Cimatu said the DENR aims to reduce the fecal coliform level in Manila Bay to 100 most probable number per 100 milliliters (MPN/100ml), making it fit for swimming and other contact recreations.

A day after the January 27 cleanup, bacteria levels taken from the Rajah Sulayman outfall—one of the eight water quality monitoring stations of the DENR—reached 35 million MPN/100ml. Prior to the cleanup, the bacteria levels in the bay reached up to 330 million MPN/100ml.

Cimatu said the cleanup efforts are in line with the Writ of Continuing Mandamus issued by the Supreme Court in 2008 to target the source of pollution in Manila Bay.

In that ruling, the high court ordered the DENR and 12 other government agencies to “clean up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay for the enjoyment of the present and future generations.”

“Battle for Trash-Free Manila Bay” is the theme for the local celebration of ICC Day 2019.

Established in 1986 by the Washington-based environmental group Ocean Conservancy, the ICC is recognized as the world’s largest volunteer effort for ocean’s health.

Held every third Saturday of September of each year, thousands of volunteers worldwide join in clearing tons of trash from coastlines, rivers and lakes and recording every piece of trash collected. ###

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Published: 19 September 2019

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu is looking forward to a “more efficient and environmentally sustainable” mining in the country with the recent signing of a landmark mining cooperation agreement between the Philippines and Japan.

“We are gradually entering into a new realm and climbing greater heights when it comes to mining with this cooperation with the Japanese government,” Cimatu said.

The Philippines, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), recently signed a three-year memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to promote and carry out cooperative activities toward sustainable mining in both countries.

The MOC was signed on August 16 in Tokyo by Minister Yoshihiko Isozaki of METI and DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas Leones on Cimatu’s behalf. The agreement came into effect from the date of signing until 2022.

It aims to strengthen cooperation in the mining industries between the Philippines and Japan. The two countries agreed to support each other in promoting sustainable development in their respective mining and mineral resources sectors.

Both countries were hoping to strengthen their ties through regular dialogues and cooperation in the areas of mining policy on exploration, development and operation; information sharing on supply-demand trends; and best practices of sustainable development and operation in mining.

Other areas of concern are security in exploration, development and operation of mines; appropriate environmental impact assessment; and improvement of investment environment to attract more investors to the mining sector.

In line with the MOC, the Philippines’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for environmental cooperation covering the fiscal year 2019.

MGB and JOGMEC agreed to undertake measures to protect the environment and rehabilitate the areas affected by mining operations, as provided for in the MOC signed by the DENR and METI.

Under the MOU, a total of 15 personnel from the MGB central office and regional offices will be sent to Japan to undergo an 11-day training on mine pollution control and environmental policies to be administered by JOGMEC. The training will be held in two batches: October 2019 and January 2020.

The MOU was signed by MGB acting director Wilfredo Moncano and JOGMEC executive vice president Hajime Ikeda.

Japan, once a world class producer of metals, now has 5,000 suspended and abandoned mines throughout the country and JOGMEC has been rehabilitating mines and working on mine pollution control since the 1970s. ###

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Published: 15 September 2019