By Manny Piñol
The Sierra Madre Mountain Range, home of the Dumagat Tribe and watershed of the mighty Cagayan River, is under attack by illegal loggers.
On Sept. 2, while I and my team were travelling on the newly-opened road connecting Quirino to Aurora Province on our way to Nueva Ecija, I personally saw the destruction of unabated illegal logging in the parts of Sierra Madre which we passed through.
Corn and other crops were planted in parts of the forest which were cleared, a farming practice which is not sustainable simply because land with very stiff grades could not be productive for so long due to soil erosion.
Along the way, I saw signs warning against Illegal Logging but these were apparently ignored by the illegal loggers.
In fact, even with the presence of police checkpoints along the stretch of roads carved out by the side of the Sierra Madre, the illegal activities continue.
This is something that must be brought to the attention of Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Gina Lopez, a passionate environmentalist.
I am sure Sec. Lopez, as soon as she reads this post, would jump to action right away and right so.
Any delay in the protection of the Sierra Madre from illegal loggers would have a catastrophic effect on the Cagayan River, including agriculture in the vast Cagayan Valley and even Nueva Ecija whose rice farmers get their irrigation water from the Casecnan Dam.
Government must act now before it is too late.
(Photos of a portion of Sierra Madre ravaged by illegal loggers and my borrowed vehicle as it traverses the Quirino-Aurora Road through the Sierra Madre Mountain Range taken by John Pagaduan.)
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