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Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘Protect Marikina watershed’

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A legislator from Rizal on Friday urged law enforcement authorities to “closely and constantly monitor” the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape to ensure that those illegally occupying parts of the watershed are kept out.

Rep. Fidel Nograles of Rizal’s second district made the urging after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Calabarzon reported that as of July it has issued stoppage orders against 123 illegal structures in the area.

The DENR served 80 show-cause orders and 43 cease-and-desist orders against encroachers of the 26,000-hectare watershed, including operators of piggeries, resorts, camps, and retreat centers.

“I urge the police and army to closely and constantly monitor the watershed to ensure strict compliance with the DENR’s stoppage orders,  Nograles, an assistant majority leader, said.

He added that law enforcers’ visibility would discourage illegal activities, as he emphasized that perpetrators are becoming more brazen.

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Two forest rangers working in a reforestation site of the Masungi Georeserve Foundation were shot by still unidentified attackers last July 24.

“Thankfully, the rangers survived, but this latest incident should underscore just how much the lives of those who are tasked with preserving the environment are at risk, and should spur us to doing more,” said Nograles.

The neophyte lawmaker also appealed to the House leadership to prioritize the passage of a bill seeking to create a specialized government body tasked with protecting the Sierra Madre mountain range would be passed during the 18th Congress.

House Bill  5634, which Nograles filed in 2019, calls for the creation of a Sierra Madre Development Authority (SMDA).

“I hope that the House leadership would see this as a legacy measure.

Let us pass this bill as soon as possible so that we can protect Filipino families from the harsher effects of climate change. Every day that we fail to act, the threat of flooding becomes an inevitable and inescapable reality,” stressed Nograles.

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