ISTAMBAY SA MINDANAO

The Bukidnon Forest Incorporated has initiated its clearance process to cut down trees in its industrial forest plantation project in Bukidnon. Read news report here.

This must be subject to scrutiny especially viewing it from the firm’s reported dismal record of reforestation since it started operating in 1989.

The firm might be good in cutting but are they as good in planting? This should be considered in the approval of its application for Environmental Compliance Certificate.

Its Industrial Forest Plantation Management Agreement (IFMA, yes silent “P”), which will expire in 2016, should be reviewed if they have cut more than they planted.

Communities near those areas subject for reforestation and cutting should be empowered to monitor this endeavor.

The Bukidnon tribe is seeking endorsement from the city government of Malaybalay for its Daraghuyan ancestral domain claim over at least 4,700 hectares inside the Mt. Kitanglad Range and Natural Park. Bae Inatlawan Adelina Tarino, head claimant, said the city government’s endorsement is the last requirement for the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to process their application.

“We hope you will help us in this requirement, which is the last document we need for the application,” Tarino’s September 23 letter to Mayor Florencio Flores, said. Tarino’s letter was written in Cebuano.

Flores endorsed the request to the city council on the same day. The legislators have calendared it for October 7, Tarino said, adding Councilor Manuel Dinlayan, the council’s committee on indigenous people’s chair, assured here it will be tackled this week.

She noted the tribe’s great difficulty in acquiring an endorsement from the barangay government in Dalwangan village, where the tribe is based.  Read full story here.

The Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has agreed to consider Bukidnon’s request for consideration in the approval of environmental compliance certificate (ECC)  for projects based in the province. Read full report here.

A plan in the 1990s to create another municipality for the Matigsalug tribe to be carved out of Kitaotao town is being revived, an official said.

Board member Roelito Gawilan, president of the Bukidnon Federation of the Association of Barangay Captains, confirmed they have started “at the grassroots level” in initiating the process to create a new town for the Matigasalugs.

Gawilan is President of the Federation of Matigsalug-Manobo Tribal Councils (FEMMATRICS) and also the elected barangay captain of Sinuda.

Gawilan said they are now conducting a study on the land area, population, and income of at least 15 of Kitaotao’s 35 barangays. Read full story here.

Three-year-old Philippine Eagle “Kagsabua” was killed by a local airgun shooter near the village where
he was released just four months ago inside the Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park, an environment official said.

Felix Mirasol, community environment and natural resource officer, confirmed to MindaNews Wednesday that witnesses have identified the culprit described as a young man who failed to attend information
drive on the Philippine Eagle (pithecophaga jefferyi).

Mirasol is the Mt. Kitanglad Protected Area superintendent.

Kagsabua was last sighted on July 7 and was known to be missing between July 8 and 10, Mirasol said. He said a search operation was immediately launched. Read the rest of this entry »

Water is inarguably Bukidnon’s most important agricultural resource.

It is a cause of wonder, however, why the sloppy process of acquiring water permits have escaped the pruning attention of local governments.

There were doubts raised by many over the years on the questionable process of acquiring water rights permits.

But over the years, too, local governments and communities seemed powerless over the matter. Read the rest of this entry »

 The provincial board of Bukidnon has approved a resolution seeking more funds for the rehabilitation and reforestation of the Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park. Read full report here.

In a resolution approved on January 30, the provincial board “significantly and zealously” requested Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Gov. Jose Ma. R. Zubiri Jr., Second district Rep. Teofisto Guingona III and First district Rep. Candido Pancrudo, Jr. for additional funding for the park.
The four officials were asked to allocate at least P1 million each for reforestation and rehabilitation of the mountain, which was declared a protected area in 2000 by Republic Act 8978.

The resolution did not specify, however, how the allocation would be allocated.

As a protected area, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was supposed to get annual budget from the national government to maintain, conserve and rehabilitate the mountain, a source from a non-government agency working in the area, said.

This was confirmed by an environment official. “Very minimal allocation is downloaded to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) from the General Appropriations Act every year so we rely on the local government,” said Agustin Lilangan, a desk officer at the Protected Area Superintendent office.

This should be a priority indeed as the whole of Bukidnon is considered a watershed.

I used this as an update this month considering the concern’s urgency. Please come back for more entries.

For the ninth time this year, the Bishops-Ulama Conference has held on to the ground by leading the celebrations for the Mindanao Week of Peace (MWOP).

The BUC adopted Zamboanga City’s Peace Week and made it Mindanao-wide in 1999.

For almost a decade, the peace weeks have been opportunities for “peace weavers” to reflect on the need for peace in Mindanao, every stakeholder’s role and what has been done to attain lasting peace. Read the rest of this entry »

Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio told Mindanao lawyers to help prevent foreigners from further exploiting the country’s mineral resources at the expense of the environment, the government and the Filipino people.

In his keynote speech before participants of the Mindanao regional convention of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines here from Nov. 21 to 23, Carpio said lawyers of the past have failed to protect the forests from logging companies, so the present crop of lawyers should not make the same mistake when it comes to mining.

Carpio voiced out the dissenting opinion in the 2005 Supreme Court decision on La Bugal-B’laan v. Ramos case that declared with finality the constitutionality of the 1995 Philippine Mining Act. Read the rest of the reporton MindaNews.com.

From the office of councilor Nenita Orcullo in 2004, when it was first proposed, Davao City’s ordinance banning aerial spraying seems bound for the Supreme Court.

The Court of Appeals granted the plea of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association for a 60-day temporary restraining order — stopping the city government’s ban for two months.

The city government might want to appeal the TRO, but is likely to focus on PBGEA’s major petition, which questions the Regional Trial Court decision on the ordinance’s constitutionality and validity.

Read the latest on the issue at Mindanews.com.

Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau regional chief Edilberto Arreza says they now tell investors about possible opposition to mining projects from the Lumads (indigenous people) unlike in the past when they were silent about this.Arreza’s presentation to businessmen attending various meetings for the East Asean Growth Area two weeks ago showed potential areas for mining, legal framework and other information for investment promotions but was silent on the issues brought up by those opposing mining.  

Arreza earlier told MindaNews they didn’t want to mention it as it might scare off the investors.  But he told MindaNews Monday that the “silence” was his own lapse. Read the rest of the report on MindaNews.com.

There’s a lot of talk about rich gold deposits in Pantaron Mountain Range in San Fernando, Bukidnon. All these gold panning stuff we hear from treasure hunters tickled our imagination over the years.

This time, however, it has become official. The government started to include Bukidnon’s mining potentials in its marketing presentations to foreign investors. Read the rest of the post on Bukidnon Reporter blog.