Man-made natural disaster

THE PHILIPPINES faced its worst natural calamity of this young century when two typhoons, "Winnie" and "Yoyong," lashed their way mercilessly through Central and Eastern Luzon. In the wake of their destruction,
government estimates place the dead and missing at more than 1,500 with the number of displaced persons in the 200,000 range and growing. Damage to crops and infrastructure is already estimated at three billion pesos but the
worst is yet to come with disease and famine certain to follow in the disaster-ravaged areas.

I urge all readers to respond to the suffering and grief of our fellow Filipinos by donating what you can -- clothes, money or canned goods -- to the Philippines. Please contact your nearest Philippine Consulate or the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC, which will accept donations in cash, check or money order. Monetary donations for disaster relief should be made payable to the Philippine Embassy which will issue receipts for all donations. Checks may be mailed to the Philippine Embassy at 1600 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., 20036.

All donations collected by the Embassy will be transmitted to the National Disaster Coordinating Center (NDCC) in the Philippines, which is the government inter-agency body responsible for coordinating disaster rescue, relief and rehabilitation. For more information, please contact the following embassy personnel if you wish to help in this most urgent humanitarian cause: Ms Cynthia Tayam at +202 4679381 or Ms Cecille Tomas at +202 4679403.

The National Federation of Filipino American Associations (Naffaa) will be coursing its donations through the Ayala Foundation, USA. Naffaa chairperson Loida Nicolas Lewis kicked off the humanitarian drive with a donation of $5,000.

The scenes of death and destruction in the Philippines that have been shown on CNN and on the Philippine satellite stations will make you weep.

These typhoons, floods, and mudslides were not just natural disasters; they were aided, abetted and directed by greedy men. As columnist Teddy Benigno put it, "this typhoon tragedy is the work of evil men who over the generations scraped our hills and mountains bald as billiard balls."

It's not just "illegal loggers" but even the legal ones who are responsible for denuding the verdant Philippine forests and for not planting any new trees to replace the ones that have been cut.

As Benigno wrote, these loggers have amassed huge fortunes. "And they did so not just with the permission, even approval, of the high and the mighty in government, but very possibly with their connivance and participation. Else, how could this enormous disaster have happened? The devil, sires, is in the bank accounts of the rich and the affluent, either here or salted abroad in secret accounts."

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) has announced the government's determination to go after these loggers: "We are determined to make those responsible for widespread death and destruction to pay the price for their
misdeeds, and we shall prosecute them the way we do terrorists, kidnapers and drug traffickers and other heinous criminals." She does not need to look too far.

Philippine environmentalists in the two devastated provinces of Aurora and Quezon have charged a dozen logging firms as responsible for the disaster: Pacific Timber Export Corp., Verdant Agro-Forest Development Corp.,
International Hardwood and Veneer Corp., Timberland Forest Products, Inter-Pacific Forest Resources Corp., Industries Development Corp., RCC Timber Co., San Roque Sawmill Corp., Benson Realty Development Corp., Top
Lite Lumber Corp. and Green Circle Properties and Resources Inc. They have challenged PGMA to immediately cancel the permits of these logging companies.

Records showed that in January 2001, the government allowed International Hardwood and Veneer Corp. to operate on 13,527 hectares of forest in Mauban town, Quezon.

On Nov. 12, 2002, the national government through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) approved the logging operation of Timberland Forest Products, covering 34,660 hectares in General Nakar.

On Dec. 5, 2001, the President also approved the operations of Industries Development Corp. and RCC Timber Co. in Aurora allowing them access to 48,877 hectares and 23,140 hectares, respectively.

On July 9, 2002, the DENR approved the logging permit of Top Lite Corp., also in Aurora, which covered 8,630 hectares.

Former DENR Secretary Heherson Alvarez identified five financiers, including two known as the "Hong Kong Boys," as primarily responsible for the illegal cutting of trees in the two provinces.

"They provide mountain dwellers, such as Aetas, with chainsaws to cut trees which are eventually made to float as logs downstream through rivers," Alvarez said.

Alvarez claimed that these loggers are close to Sen. Edgardo Angara, whose sister is Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, and whose son, Juan Pablo "Sonny" Angara, is the congressman of Aurora. Senator Angara issued a
statement denying any involvement with the illegal loggers.

I visited the Philippines in April of 1986 in the "Freedom Flight" that brought anti-Marcos activists to Manila. Sometime during that visit, I spoke with a friend who was a lawyer in New York and who was returning to the Philippines permanently. His law partner in New York had returned earlier and was appointed to a Cabinet post by President Cory Aquino. When my friend visited the Cabinet secretary, he was offered a logging concession permit in
either Isabela or Quezon to start him off. He was told that the value of the permit was P25 million.

As I watched the scenes of devastation in Quezon and Aurora, I recalled that conversation and thought about how easy it was to obtain permits to denude our forests. It didn't matter whether people were anti-Marcos or pro-Marcos. It doesn't really matter whether people are with the government or in the opposition. Who's watching the store? Who's looking out for the interests of the Filipino people?

Please donate what you can. It is a matter of life and death.

Send comments to Rodel50@aol.com.