Murder boosts locals’ resolve to seek cancellation of forest management agreement

Murder boosts locals’ resolve to seek cancellation of forest management agreement


CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The rain has washed off traces of the Christmas Eve crime.


Alberto "Berting" A. Pinagawa was shot to death by still unidentified men on his way home for the holidays, an event that has strengthened the resolve of locals in seeking the cancellation of an integrated forest management agreement (IFMA) in nearby Gingoog City granted to a private firm.
Had Mr. Pinagawa been alive, he would have been guarding his clan’s land, which is part of an IFMA area comprising 11,476 hectares under Southwood Timber Corp. (STC).
According to Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order 99-53, an IFMA is a production-sharing contract entered into by and between the department and a qualified applicant who is given the exclusive right to develop, manage, protect and use a specified area of forest land and forest resources for 25 years, renewable for another 25 years.
Mr. Pinagawa would have been among those celebrating when the Gingoog City Council recalled last Dec. 28 three previous resolution that included an endorsement of STC’s IFMA application.
The council has requested the DENR to cancel the IFMA based on a petition signed by thousands of residents.
Groups composed of the post-disaster task force in Gingoog, the Eco Care of the local Catholic church and others had sought the reversal of resolutions passed in 2007 and 2008 backing the IFMA.
"The [groups are] not against the cutting of trees," said Marites R. Echavez, a member of the post-disaster task force created after flash floods submerged the city in January last year.
"We are not including the cutting of planted trees which is the source of income for many residents. We asked for only three things," she said. "First, we wanted the [city council] to rescind its endorsement of the IFMA. Second, we wanted them to conduct an ocular inspection of the area to see for themselves if the company is indeed following the agreement. And third, we are calling for an objective investigation of the killing of our colleague, Manong Berting."
STC forester Glenn A. Senoc, however, said the company is following the selective logging system.
"We are only cutting big trees and those that will be hit by the felled trees," he said. "We are applying a sustainable method by cutting only a portion of the area at a time so that when we go back to the area where we started, the seedlings we have planted would be matured enough for cutting and the cycle is continuous."
Allan M. Mandokita, the indigenous peoples representative in the city council, argued that his community, which is claiming an ancestral domain area covered by the project, endorsed the venture based on economic grounds.
"When the Anakan Lumber Co. and the Naawan Lumber Co. were operating in our forests, our roads were good. People were able to easily travel from Gingoog to Calabugao in Bukidnon to engage in trading or to find employment. When these companies stopped operation, illegal loggers replaced them," he said.
"We jumped at the opportunity when STC... applied for the area because we see this as a solution to illegal logging. Our roads will be rehabilitated and the company will provide employment for our people."
But the petitioner groups pointed out a lapse in the council’s endorsement of the project since some areas are no longer under the jurisdiction of Gingoog.
Councilor Agnes U. Lee, who opposes the IFMA, also questioned the failure to set up a monitoring committee which is part of the agreement.
Another issue was the lack of endorsement from the Minalwang indigenous communities under the Minalwang Higa-onon Tribal Council, Inc., of which Mr. Pinagawa had been an active member.
In the document that the groups have secured from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, the recommendation was for the issuance of a certificate of precondition covering only 4,000 hectares.
Also, the lobby against the project cited two events of flooding in Gingoog last year that were linked to the project.
STC’s Mr. Senoc, however, said the runoff during a downpour flows to the Odiongan river, not the city.
A supporter of the IFMA, Councilor Rey Y. Mortiz noted that aside from STC’s reforestation program, residents would also benefit from possible employment in the company.
But Ruel, a nephew of Mr. Pinagawa, said: "This is not an issue of technicalities. This is an argument for life. My uncle had once said that one tree is equivalent to four lives. Even before the DENR, we the lumads [natives] had a system of protecting the environment."
"If there are spaces between the trees in the forest, then they plant in these spaces. They do not have to cut existing trees to be able to plant new ones," he added.
"We do not need companies in our forests. What we need are genuine livelihood programs that are not destructive of our ancestral lands." -- Louise G. Dumas