Alleba Politics

The mandate of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) obliges it to be the “primary agency responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the country’s environment and natural resources.” Furthermore, the department is to have these objectives:

1.) Assure the availability and sustainability of the country’s natural resources through judicious use and systematic restoration or replacement, whenever possible;
2.) Increase the productivity of natural resources in order to meet the demands for forest, mineral, and land resources of a growing population;
3.) Enhance the contribution of natural resources for achieving national economic and social development;
4.) Promote equitable access to natural resources by the different sectors of the population;
5.) Conserve specific terrestrial and marine areas representative of the Philippine natural and cultural heritage for present and future generations.

Recent actions by the current DENR, however, seem to be protecting everything but those they were mandated to protect. The DENR encourages mining despite opposition from both local government units (of Palawan and Davao Provinces, among others) and the civil society. Now, the DENR is allowing the resumption of logging in a protected area in Samar. To make things more mind-boggling, the logging firm’s license was even extended to compensate for the years they were not allowed to log in the area. NICE!

Makes me wonder who the government is really serving? The Filipino people? Or the rich capitalists?

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