DENR files complaint vs Intramuros chief for illegal tree-cutting

QUEZON CITY, Philippines – Intramuros Administration chief Maria Ana "Bambi" Harper was accused of allowing the illegal cutting of 13 trees at the Plaza Roma in Intramuros, Manila, in a complaint filed with the Office at the Ombudsman on Tuesday. The complaint, which includes the contractor who cut the trees, was filed by Corazon Davis, National Capital Region executive director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Davis said she issued a permit last August 5, allowing Harper to cut some 17 trees and ball out nine narra and two mahogany trees and transfer them elsewhere within the historic Walled City. But Davis said Harper cut 13 trees – 10 of them narra and 3 mahogany – in violation of Presidential Decree 953. Also named in the complaint was Fernando Simburio, contractor of the Greenphil Plant Nursery. Both Harper and Simburio were also accused of violating Republic Act 9157 (The Chainsaw Act of 2002), and Republic Act 3019 (The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act). The DENR said the cutting of trees, on August 25, was done with a chainsaw without authority or license to lease or rent from the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office and without coordination with the DENR-NCR – in violation of the Chainsaw Act. "A chainsaw is like a gun," Davis explained in Filipino." It should be registered and could only be carried or used where it was registered. Simburio borrowed the chainsaw from a certain Efren Carran, who is the duly registered owner of the chainsaw. The chainsaw has a Certificate Registration and Certificate to Operate in Calabarzon only and shall need another certificate if it would be used outside Calabarzon, so in this case, there was no certificate issued to use it in Manila." "Calabarzon" stands for the Southern Luzon provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon. The complaint added that Harper and Simburio did not coordinate with the office of Barangay 655, Zone 69, District V, in Manila for the installation of billboards on the project site to inform the public that the balling and cutting of trees is covered with permit issued by the DENR and the copy of the permit shall be posted at the barangay office. Davis further stressed that the DENR-NCR, through the Urban Forestry Division, was not informed of the schedule of balling and cutting operation for supervision in complete disregard of the issued permit. Davis further said that Harper’s act of entering into a contract with Simburio caused injury to the government and to the public because the contractor had "no expertise, experience, and technical knowledge on balling." - GMANews.TV