Massive tree cutting
in forest discovered
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

BRGY. ANDRES BONIFACIO, Cadiz City – The arrest of 13 suspected timber poachers here has led to the discovery of massive illegal cutting of trees of banned species within the Northern Negros Natural Park .

Ka Joseph, a squad leader of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade, yesterday said an estimated 14 hectares of the forest reserve in this hinterland barangay, have been damaged by timber poaching activities.

The 13 timber poachers allegedly behind the forest destruction in two adjacent areas of the park, were chanced upon by patrolling RPA-ABB members led by Ka Joseph, while cutting lauan trees and making charcoal in the forest reserve area, Saturday.

A class suit of more than 200 Negrenses, including children, will be filed before the Bacolod Regional Trial Court tomorrow to try to stop the Energy Development Corp. (formerly PNOC EDC) entry into the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park buffer zone for geothermal development, lawyer Andrea Si said yesterday.

They are seeking a temporary retraining order and a permanent injunction on the EDC move, she said.

Si and Delia Locsin, at a press conference at the Bishop's house yesterday, stressed their opposition to the tapping of geothermal power from the buffer zone and to the purchase of power for Negros Occidental from a coal-fired plant in Cebu .

The Energy Development Corp. (formerly PNOC EDC) yesterday urged all parties “to cease from causing further delay in its fulfilling its commitment to supply the power that Negros Occidental badly needs”.

“If we are genuinely concerned for the common good, we should help in solving the problem instead of aggravating the situation. We must respect the decision of the authorities and the majority of the Negrenses,” Gino de la Cruz, EDC resident manager for its Northern Negros Geothermal Production Field in Mailum, Bago, said in a press statement.

The statement came as a reaction to the announcement by members of the Save Mt.Kanlaon Coalition that they will file a class suit against the company, the Department of Energy, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Protected Area Management Board.