Second Quarter Volume 2, Series of 2011 Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Region VII, Central Visayas Lake Balinsasayao RED Maximo O. Dichoso (left) together with Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia (center) and Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the regional implementation of National Greening Program (NGP). The heads of offices of the agencies as i ndicated in EO 26 also signified their commitment. APRIL - JUNE Kalikupan Central Visayas [ 1 ] The national government and local government officials of Central Visayas led by Cebu Provincial Governor Gwendolyn Garcia in a photo session after the MOAsigning on the regional implementa tion of NGP. M ore than 8,000 trekked to Jaclu- pan, Talisay City to join the re- gional launching the regional implementation of the National Greening Program (NGP) on June 25, 2011 which aims to plant seedlings of agroforestry, native and indigenous species in forestlands and denuded areas, as part of coping with the effects of climate change. DENR-7 Maximo O. Dichoso presented the NGP which was attended by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Rep. Eduardo Gullas, Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, Negros Oriental Roel Degamo, Pro- vincial Board Members Julian Daan, Jude Thaddeus Sybico, Joven Mondigo and Thadeo Ouano and other local chief executives. Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez point- ed out the unusual weather changes in vari- ous parts of the country and recent disasters. Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said the fine weather here is a sign from heavens. She thanked the participants for making a differ- ence in planting at least one seedling. ―You will have staked your claim and you will have staked your commitment to protect Mother Earth and to thank Senior Sto. Nino for con- tinually blessing us, sparing us from climate change that is wreaking havoc, as we speak throughout certain parts of the country.‖ continue on page 9... DENR 7 leads NGP regional launch in Talisay City
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A lmost 100 participants attended the Regional Green Advocates Forum: An Intersectoral Dialogue on April 14, 2011 organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 (DENR) and Envi-ronmental Management Bureau-7 (EMB-7).
DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Maximo O. Dichoso said a meaningful and constructive dialogue isimportant among business sectors, local government units, academe, media and other stakeholders toascertain which areas of cooperation or collaboration along environmental protection are needed to beenhanced.
―There is a need to strengthen and deepen our strategic partnerships with these sectors as we try to getupdates by leveling-off of functions and initiatives among different groups on environmental manage-ment in Region 7 as well as the DENR programs,‖ Dichoso added.
Plenary sessions were conducted on recent updates of the programs and projects and initiatives of EMB,DENR sectors, concerned national government agencies (NGAs), local government units (LGUs) , civicand religious groups, academe, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, media and the youth.
Updates on the regional state of the environment and the status of implementation of the thrust andmission of each sector concerning or relating to the environment were presented such as air quality, wa-ter quality, toxic chemical and hazardous wastes, solid wastes, and environmental impact assessment.
Workshops in identifying the priorities and concerns for 2011 onwards using as reference the roadmapfor sustainable development offered by the United Nations were undertaken. Other topics included pro-tected areas, wildlife and coastal zones, forest management, and geohazard mapping.
―A commitment for the next steps will be sealed to make sure that existing green programs and initia-tives will be sustained and sharing of lessons learned will be adopted,‖ he said during the forum.
The Regional Green Advocates Forum: An Intersectoral Dialogue was an Earth Day 2011 event withtheme ‗Earth Day Everyday‖ held at Sarrosa International Hotel, Mabolo, Cebu City.
APRIL - JUNE Kalikupan Central Visayas [ 2 ]
Vice Governor Li Ronggen handed over atoken to DENR-7 RED Maximo O. Dichoso
Morethan tenthousandmangrovepropaguleswere plant-ed on June21, 2011within the1,028-hectare inOlango Is-land Wildlife Sanctuary in Lapu-Lapu City by 100DENR-7 employees, students, local government and
other government officials.
The sanctuary is the Philippines first wetland of international importance for waterfowl and coversa vast mangrove forest.
According to DENR 1995 statistics, conversion tofishponds, prawn farms, salt ponds, reclamation andother forms of industrial development has reducedthe mangrove area to 117,700 hectares, from450,000 hectares in 1918.
Mangroves contribute 1,800-4,200 grams of carbonper square meter per year (approximately the con-tribution of the tropical rain forest and 10 timeshigher than primary production in the open ocean.
Dichoso added ―we want to convey the message thatmangroves provide shelter for local and migratorywildlife and serve as roosting and foraging groundsthat is why we really have to protect them‖.
From September to November, thousands of shore-birds migrate to Olango and farther south to Aus-tralia and New Zealand after breeding in China,
Russia and Alaska following the East Asian- Australasian Flyway. Soon after winter, from Marchto May, the shorebirds begin their northward migra-tion and thousands of them pass by Olango en routeto the breeding areas in northern hemisphere.
The most notable shorebirds found in Olango arethe Asian Dowitcher, Chinese Egret, Eurasian Cur-lew, Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwit and Red Knot,among others.
The mangrove tree planting and coastal cleanupwas one of the features of the environment month2011 celebration with theme: Forests: Nature atyour service.
APRIL - JUNE Kalikupan Central Visayas [ 3 ]
DENR-7 employees, students and local govern-
ment units and other stakeholders planted over
10,000 mangrove propagules within the 1,028-hectare Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in
Lapulapu City. The activity was initiated to en-
sure the integrity of the coastal resource
through tree planting, as well as clean up.
ERDS 7 Supervising Researcher Rey
Lanuza won Best Paper Award
E RDS Supervising Science Research Spe-cialist, Reynaldo L. Lanuza won an
award for Best Research Paper SeniorResearch Category during the 14th An-
nual Meeting and Scientific Conference of thePhilippine Society of Soil Science and Technolo-gy (PSSST) held at the Visayas State University(VSU) in Baybay City, Leyte last 25-27 May2011. The three-day conference organized byPSSST was attended in by more than a hundredsoil scientists, soil practitioners, and agricultur-ists working in universities, government agen-cies, non-government organizations, and privatecompanies throughout the country. Leading soilscientists from Australia, Canada, and Germany
a l s o a t t e n d e d t h e s a i d e v e n t .
ERDS 7 pride, R. L. Lanuza bested other soilexperts in the country as he bagged first placein the Senior Researcher Category for his paperentitled: ―Geospatial Modeling of Soil Erosion inBuhisan Watershed Forest Reserve, Cebu City,Philippines: Model Application and Validation‖. The research aimed at assessing soil erosionvulnerability, determine and map-out the vul-nerability levels, and formulate specific mitigat-ing measures and policy recommendations. TheGIS-assisted model was able to predict the po-tential soil erosion at Buhisan Watershed andthe erosion vulnerable sites were mapped out.Mitigating measures comprised the enhance-ment of vegetative cover and the establishmento f e r o s i o n c o n t r o l m e a s u r e s .
A total of 26 research papers were presentedduring the conference dealing with various soiltopics ranging from soil fertility management tosoil characterization and geospatial modeling. Inaddition, 25 poster papers were also presented.The presenters of the best oral and poster pa-pers were awarded with certificates and cash.Said annual gathering is organized with the endview of promoting the advancement of soil sci-ence and technology in the country and provid-ing a venue for sharing and exchangingknowledge and ideas.
major impacts brought about by heavy rains, Apo Cement Corporation in Naga City, Cebuinstalled and maintained along with other tenoperating mines and quarries in the region astandard rain gauge to provide information toneighboring municipalities to alert residents onpotential areas of landslides, flooding and othergeological hazards.
It maybe recalled that the Philippine Atmos-pheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) capacitated ortrained personnel of these mining companies on
the proper installation and maintenance of rain-fall measuring apparatus, site selection andgathering of rainfall data.
The mining companies maintain the operationof their rain gauges and do the collection, read-ing and recording of the data as prescribed byPAG-ASA.
The 8 inches diameter standard rain gauge isinstalled in a metal support that is attached tothree stakes driven in the ground. The supportis mounted firmly and so the top of the gauge is
level, and the base is 10 to 15 inches above theground.
The mining companies with rain gauges areCarmen Copper Corporation in Toledo City, Ce-bu; Taiheiyo Cement Philippines Inc. and SolidEarth Development Corporation in San Fernan-do, Cebu; JLR Construction and AggregatesInc., in Naga, Cebu; Philippine Mining ServiceCorporation-Bohol Limestone Corporation inGarcia-Hernandez, Bohol; Philippine MiningService Corporation-Dolomite Mining Corpora-tion in Alcoy, Cebu; Lazi Bay Resources Devel-
opment Incorporated in Lazi, Siquijor; andGoodyield Resources Development Incorporatedin Ayungon, Negros Oriental.
Mines and Geosciences Bureau-7 Regional Di-rector Loreto B. Alburo said ―the initiative isthe first time being instituted by mining compa-nies in the country as part of their contributionto the community so that data or informationthat will be gathered or collected will be used toadvance disaster mitigation and preparedness‖.
Alburo added this practice among mining com-
panies in the region is a manifestation of re-sponsible mining of trying to provide assistanceto proper authorities particularly the local gov-ernment units and ultimately the communitiesin responding very cautiously to disasters.
Apo Cement Corporation/Apo Land and Quarry Cor-
poration Deputy Plant Director Normandy Chan
warmly welcome the participants of the Mine/Plant
Tour from the trimedia, NGOs, and local government
units and other stakeholders. He stressed that the
company has been transparent in every mining stage.
Twelve persons mostly farmers were for-mally charged for violation of Section 14of Republic Act (RA) 9486, or the CentralCebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) Act,
after they were caught inflagrante delicto or inthe act of cutting and gathering trees withoutpermit, collecting by-products derived, informal-ly occupying or dwelling, excavating and de-stroying natural land formations in BarangaysTabunan and Sudlon II within the Central CebuProtected Landscape (CCPL).
The farmers who were formally charged on June14, 2011 with Criminal Case No. CBU-92765 forviolation of Section 14, RA 9486 are CristtutoQuia-ot, Elesio Bacalso, Elizardo Racaza, Flor-encio Borres, Meling Abendon, Marjon Ababon,Maynard Ababon, Jimmy Epe, Carmelito Fer-nandez, Juan Compra, Lolita Epe, and NeneMinisterio. They were ordered release after pay-ing a total amount of P480,000 as cash/suretybail bond or P40,000 each on June 14, 2011.
The destroyed or damaged of 1.5 hectares has an
estimated value of P541,000.00 and sits withinthe strict protection zone of CCPL.
available,” Dichoso stated. Protected Area Sustaina- bility Assessment (PASA) includes location, topogra-
phy, land use, potential for tourism services, indus-tries, natural features, hydrology, vegetative cover,
flora and fauna, and cultural practices or uniqueness.
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was executed between then DENR Secretary Antonio H. Cerillesand General Tiburcio Fusilero on the “Adopt-a-
Mountain Program” in Barangays Cantipla and Ta-
bunan on November 15, 2000 within the 28,312-hectare Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL).
The Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) under Republic Act No. 9486 which was approved on June7, 2007 covers a consolidated area of 28,312 hectaresconsisting of the Buhisan Watershed Forest Reserve,
Mananga Watershed Forest Reserve, Sudlon NationalPark, Central Cebu National Park and the Kotkot-
Lusaran Watershed Forest Reserve located in the cit-ies of Cebu, Talisay, Toledo and Danao, and in themunicipalities of Minglanilla, Consolacion, Liloan,Compostela, and Balamban.
A ctual forest occupants within the 504-hectare reforesta-tion project within the Central Cebu Protected Landscape
(CCPL) in Barangays Cantipla and Tabunan, Cebu City of retired General Tiburcio Fusilero will be organized to policeand undertake maintenance and protection from squatters or encroachment, forest fires, illegal resource extraction, ex-
pansion off farm lots and other destructive activities; and preparation of detailed management and development plan
were the recommendations after a dialogue presided by theDepartment of Environment and Natural Resources-7 Re-gional Executive Director Maximo O. Dichoso.
A dialogue attended by 22 tenured migrants and new forest
occupants within the awarded area of retired General Tibur-cio Fusilero under a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on“Adopt-a-Mountain” program inside the Central Cebu Pro-tected Landscape (CCPL) was conducted to solicit inputsand solutions on the conflict between a group of farmers andMr. Fusilero..
“The development plan will be made in consultation withMr. Fusilero and the actual forest occupants based on theinventory to be conducted by DENR -7 so that areas will bedelineated for farming purposes or for tree planting,“ he
said.
“We want to stress out here that DENR -7 is willing to ex-tend the appropriate assistance to only actual forest occu- pants in terms of determining areas for farming in consulta-tion with Mr. Fusilero being the instrument holder without
necessarily affecting their livelihood,” he said. “Our para-mount concern is the integrity of the environment there,” hesaid.
Mr. Fusilero said that they planted around 60,000 seedlingsthis year but 30 hectares of the total covered area were de-stroyed or uprooted by some farmers. He further reported
that buying and selling of lots started in 2003 when a roadwas developed within his reforestation project. Meanwhile,the farmers alleged that there was no consultation conductedwhen Fusilero tried to develop the area and some of themwere threatened and harassed.
It was also recommended that a meeting be conducted be-tween the Cebu City Assessors Office and the brokers or buyers of lot within the 504-hectare so that they will knowthe impacts of buying or selling within a protected area.
“The Protected Area and Wildlife Conservation ZoneManagement Services is instructed to conduct a thoroughassessment of actual tenured migrants based on the Protect-
ed Area Sustainability Assessment (PASA) records availa-
Dialogue among CCPL forest
occupants conducted
APRIL - JUNE Kalikupan Central Visayas [ 9 ]
(DENR 7 leads… from page 1)
The tree planting activity immediately fol-
lowed after the launch within a 30-hectare for-
estland in Brgy. Jaclupan, Talisay City whichforms part of Central Cebu Protected Land-
RTD Isabelo R. Montejo, CESO IV RTD Ruth M. Tawantawan, CESO IV
RTD Diana R. Apistar OIC-RTD Emma E. Melana
Editorial Consultants
Eddie E. Llamedo
Editor-in-Chief
Maricita S. Cabasa
Theodora D. de Leon
Ann Lizther F. Jumawan
Stephanie Ave Q. Chan
Erna E. Arranguez Writers/Contributors
Stephanie Ave Q. Chan Ann Lizther F. Jumawan
Graphic Design/Artists
Kalikupan is a quarterly publication of the Department of Environment andNatural Resources with office address atGreenplains Subdivision, Banilad,Mandaue City.
(DENR 7 files…from page 8) The team composed of CCPL Protected Area Superintendent(PASu) Ariel Rica with the PNP Cebu City Police Office led by Police Chief Inspector Pablo Cabildo and personnel from78th IB, 8ID of Philippine Army apprehended the 12 personswho illegally cut planted and naturally grown trees and erect-
ed structures on June 11, 2011 after they received a com- plaint from the group of Ret. General Tiburcio Fusilero. Thearea is a portion within the Memorandum of Agreement withMr. Fusilero. A similar complaint was received on May 3,2011 involving the same group of farmers and they were noti-fied to stop the activities introduced there but they still con-tinued.
DENR -7 Regional Executive Director Maximo O. Dichosocommended the efforts of the team as he urged all concernedcitizens to report immediately any violations or illegal activi-ties within the CCPL area so that proper investigation could be effected.
Based on the inventory, 301 pieces of boyon- boyon and 38 pieces of pako, all indigenous tree species, were cut downamounting to P41,960.70, two bunkhouses constructed, 289 pieces of foothpath put in and 1.5 hectares of environmentaldamages which amounted to P500,000.
“We would like to emphasize here that the protection, conser-vation and management of CCPL is a collective and jointefforts among local government units, non-governmentorganizations, business sectors, and law enforcementagencies like PNP and AFP,” Dichoso explained.
“We will not hesitate to enforce the laws, rules and regula-tions relevant to the CCPL, institute and file legal actionindependently or in collaboration with other government
agencies or organizations,” he said.
A fine of not less than Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00) or more than Five hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00) and/or imprisonment from one year but not more than six yearsshall be imposed upon any person violating certain provisions
of RA 9486.
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was executed
between then DENR Secretary Antonio H. Cerilles and Gen-eral Tiburcio Fusilero on the “Adopt-a-Mountain Program” inBarangays Cantipla and Tabunan on November 15, 2000within the 28,312-hectare Central Cebu Protected Landscape