DENR’s refo program pushes for peace and development

THE recent decommissioning of firearms of former combatants of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade–Tabara-Paduano Group (RPM-P/RPA/ABB-TPG) was a long, tedious work and a collaboration of efforts from different national government agencies.

As former rebel combatants, they were always on the run for their lives. But finally they got tired and talked peace with the government.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) listened to their plea and embraced them through the PAMANA (PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn) which began in 2012 with 11 national government agencies as implementors.

One of the 11 agencies is the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which formulated socio-economic interventions in pursuing the peace process with RPM-P/RPA/ABB/TPG.

In Western Visayas, the DENR implemented PAMANA program by hiring members of the former rebel combatants to work as Forest Guards (FGs) in reforestation project, specifically in National Greening Program (NGP) sites.

DENR 6 worked hard to grant them their Peace and Development Communities (PDC) sites and provided sustainable livelihood under the NGP.

From being society’s menace, they are now some of the most productive citizens of this country.

How did that happen?

As DENR–PAMANA beneficiaries in the province of Antique province, 22 of them were hired and worked as forest guards, whose presence had proved to be strong deterrent to illegal tree cutters in the towns of Culasi and Belison. Their presence also helped protect and conserve the province’s natural resources.

Since becoming beneficiaries in 2014 in Aklan province, the group had produced a total of 390,390 seedlings.

The group, now known as Kapatiran para sa Progresibong Panlipunan, Inc. as part of their institutional transformation, had signed a P6,214,970 contract with DENR for the NGP since 2014 to the present.

They maintain plantation in three upland sites – Ibajay, Tangalan and Nabas – and planted commodities ranging from timber and indigenous tree species to agroforestry and high value crops.

A total of 57.51 hectares of land situated in the town of Ibajay now serves as their PDC site or settlement area. It was made possible through the tenurial instrument called Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA) which was awarded to them on April 25, 2018.

The CBFMA is an agreement between DENR and Kapatiran which allows them to develop, utilize, manage and conserve a specific portion of the forestland consistent with the principles of sustainable development.

In Negros Occidental, they were granted their settlement areas which are also covered by the CBFMA and are located in Kabankalan City with an area of 179.64 hectare (ha.) and with 80 beneficiaries; Cadiz City, 232 ha., with 73 beneficiaries; and San Carlos City, 230 ha. with 180 beneficiaries.

Last November 2018, the Negros group was able to produce 112,000 seedlings and continued maintaining and protecting 225 has. of forestlands.

Under the PAMANA–NGP, they were able to establish plantations with a total of 540 has. in the hinterlands of Cadiz and Kabankalan. They are also instrumental in assisting DENR forest rangers in their LAWIN foot patrol and in law enforcement activities.

After years of returning to the fold of the law, their efforts are paying off. The decommissioning of their more than 300 firearms last September 19, 2019 at Camp Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz was a step closer to the completion of the peace pact.

As the struggle continues, the DENR and all other national government agencies will continue to work for these former rebels to attain the peace and development they too deserve – for them and their families.

“With your PDC sites, we will help you build your community. Now you can live in peace among one another and start your economic activities. We wanted you to pursue sustainable development while we also ensure your safety,” according to Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, who is also the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for Western Visayas. (DENR-6)