The Social Action Center of the Diocese of Bacolod and 10 civil society organizations, in a joint position paper, yesterday called for an end to “private ownership and landlordism in the Negros forests” on the eve of a meeting of the Protected Area Management Board of the Northern Negros Natural Park.

The PAMBI is expected to decide on whether or not structures will be allowed within the NNNP in Salvador Benedicto town in a meeting at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City at 10 a.m. today.

On the agenda are the cease-and-desist orders issued to occupants of the NNNP in the town, who include Murcia Mayor Andrew Montelibano and Salvador Benedicto Mayor Josemax Ortiz.

Andres Untal, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer, said the issue of structures inside the NNNP will be the main agenda of the PAMB meeting to be chaired by Jim Sampulna, regional director of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources in Western Visayas and co-chaired by Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr.

In April, the PAMB approved a resolution ordering a status quo to prevent further construction within the area.

Sampulna said no one will be allowed to occupy the strictly protected zone of the NNNP but those in the multiple use zone may stay where they are if allowed by the PAMB.

The joint position paper issued yesterday calls for the restoration of the environmental integrity of the NNNP now.

The forest cover of Negros was already in a critical state since the 70s when big logging corporations started to clear much of the forest areas of the province. The entry of development projects such as the geothermal plant of the then Philippine National Oil Corp., now Energy Development Corp., including community activities such as kaingin, has further exacerbated the degraded carrying capacities of Negros forests and its ecological services, it said.

The recent plunder on the forests of Negros is the excessive acquisition of vast areas of land inside the protected area and natural park. This private ownership and landlordism is an insult to the National Integrated Protected Areas System Law or NIPAS and a threat to human security, it added.

The private ownership inside the NNNP has resulted to the mushrooming of illegal structures inside the natural park, specifically in Patag in Silay, Gawahon in Victorias and Don Salvador Benedicto. Most of the illegal structures sit inside the protected area and ironically are owned by prominent individuals and politicians, the position paper said.

The signatories of the position paper said they support the CDOs issued by the PENRO against the two mayors and other personalities for allegedly encroaching on 107.77-hectare NNNP protected zone.

They said they also support Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. in his statement that there are no sacred cows in the order.

They also said they strongly endorse the recent recommendations of the Technical Working Group of the PAMB which include for the demolition of illegal structures within the NNNP.

“While we strongly support the actions of the Provincial Governor, PENRO and the TWG of PAMB on the illegal structures, we also urged that they pursue and implement their commitments and recommendations the soonest time possible,” they added.

The signatories to the position paper are Fr. Ernie Larida of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Bacolod, Jun Mojica - Green Alert Negros, Andre Si - DAWN Foundation, Priscilla Goco - FDC-Negros, Auke Idzenga – AID Foundation, Karlo Burdeous – DIHON, Ted Lopez – Alter Trade Foundation, Edwin Balajadia - PRRM-Negros, Duds Locsin – Paghiliusa sa Paghidaet-Negros, Jack Pamene - Pax Cristi Negros, and Griderick Alila - PRRYA.*CPG

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