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Monday, December 27, 2004
House body forms group to consolidate log ban bills
By Antonio M. Ajero
THE House committee on natural resources is expected to come up with the final draft of the bill proposing a total ban on logging activities in the Philippines.
Representative Leovigilido "Boy" B. Banaag (1st District, Agusan del Norte), chair of the House natural resources committee said the committee, whose membership has been expanded recently to 75 congressmen and women, decided during a hearing before the Christmas break to create a technical working group (TWG) to consolidate the three anti-logging bills for the committee to report out late January or early February next year.
He said the TWG composed of experts from the government and the private sector is tasked to define the terminologies in the proposed law and seek to incorporate the inputs of the country's wood industry and other major stakeholders.
The three separate bills sought to be consolidated are those filed by Banaag himself, by Zamboanga del Norte Representative Roseller Barinaga and by Davao del Sur's Representative Douglas Ra. Cagas.
Banaag said the technical working group is expected to define what is meant by "total log ban" in the light of the existence of tree plantations and Integrated Forest Management Agreements.
He said there is even a need of defining the such terms as "forest," "virgin forest," "timberland," "forest reserves," and "watersheds," among others in order to leave no allowance for doubts and hair-splitting debates on terminologies when interpreting the proposed law.
House Majority Leader Prospero C. Nograles also bared in Davao City that the total log ban is one of the priority bills to be calendared by the House early next year.
(December 27, 2004 issue)
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