DENR bats for creation of Enforcement Bureau to protect forest rangers

An enforcement bureau must be established within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to effectively stop illegal logging and smuggling of wildlife species in the country, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said.

Cimatu reiterated the call on the heels of another death of a forest ranger in Nueva Ecija.

“This senseless attacks against forest defenders must come to an end,” he said in a statement.

“The proposed bureau will primarily benefit our foresters who are exposed to various risks and dangers when they perform their tasks on the field,” he added.

Forest ranger Ronaldo Corpuz who works in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija was shot multiple times by a still unidentified gunman outside his house on October 25.

Three days before he was killed, Corpuz conducted a surveillance operation against timber poaching and illegal transport of forest products in the town of Rizal. This led to the seizure of lumbers from three individuals who were formally charged for violation of the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines.

A long-time DENR informant in Muñoz, Guadencio Arana, was also killed by motorcycle-riding suspects on September 11.

In El Nido, Palawan, forest ranger Bienvinido Severino Veguilla Jr. was hacked to death by a suspected illegal logger on September 4.

Cimatu, during a budget hearing at the House of Representatives, previously said that forest rangers are being trained to use shotguns amid threats to their lives.

He, however, pointed out the need for a law that would enable the DENR to arm forest rangers. — Dona Magsino/RSJ, GMA News