THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has hired the services of 178 forest protection officers (FPOs) to assist them in guarding and preserving the forestland of Zamboanga City.
The FPOs were hired for this city’s west coast based on the representation of first district Representative Celso Lobregat.
Lobregat said the FPOs will assist the DENR, Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD), and the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone (Zamboecozone) in the preservation of this city’s remaining forest, watershed and mangrove.
The hired FPOs have started working on Thursday, November 16, as agreed in a meeting by Lobregat and the officials of the DENR, ZCWD, and Zamboecozone.
The FPOs will monitor the buffer zones of the watershed against the presence of poachers since the ZCWD maintains forest guards to guard this city’s watershed.
The 178 FPOs were organized into two groups to ensure the forestland is being guard daily with the first group rendering duty from Saturday until Wednesday and the second group from Thursday until Monday.
The hiring of FPOs is in line with the National Forest Protection Program, which is aimed to strengthen protection mechanism of the remaining natural forest of the country.
Each of them will receive a monthly compensation of P8,500 from the DENR, the agency in-charge of the program.
They will be deployed in the villages within the first district and this are as follows: Limpapa; Labuan; Patalon; La Paz; Pamucutan; Baluno; Pasonanca; Dulian-Upper Pasonanca; Mariki; Rio Hondo; and, Sta. Barbara. (Bong Garcia/SunStar Philippines)