LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The local government unit (LGU) here, along with some residents, including children, has attained relief over a court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order over the Shilan Communal Forest in this municipality.
Reelected town councilor Bartolome Baldas, the municipal legal officer when the case was filed in 2020, said “we had to initiate the case so that we can protect it, being a source of our water, and it is just one of the remaining green patches in La Trinidad.”
The case was filed by the LGU after it found out that the defendants had bulldozed portions of the communal forest without any permit from the authorities, which threatened to affect the remaining green patches.
Baldas said the court issued a Temporary Environment Protection Order (TEPO), but the defendants still have many legal recourses.
He, however, said they are confident that a Permanent Environmental Protection Order (PEPO) would be issued, fixing the status of the forest area to benefit the current and future generations.
In its 20-page decision, the Regional Trial Court Branch 10 in this town ordered the defendants to restore the bulldozed portion of the forest by installing slope protection and drainage to prevent further landslides.
“The defendants are directed to conduct full and necessary restorative measures over the affected area at their own expense. This shall be done under the close supervision of the DENR-CAR (Department of the Environment and Natural Resources in Cordillera Administrative Region) and the local government of La Trinidad, which are directed to monitor defendant’s compliance with the court’s order,” the decision’s dispositive portion read.
The court also ordered that defendants cease and desist from engaging in all excavation and developmental activities in the subject area and provide unimpeded access to DENR, local government and their authorized agents for the protection and rehabilitation of the communal forest.
The decision was rendered on June 10, and the municipality received the official copy on June 13.
Lawyer Victor Singa Jr., municipal legal officer, said in a separate interview that they would exhaust all available legal remedies to ensure that if the defendants would appeal the case, they could initiate the necessary measures to protect the area from further damage and prevent other problems to both the environment and the people.
Incumbent mayor and Provincial Board member-elect Romeo Salda called the decision a victory for the town.
“You know, before, it even reached the court, we had been issuing cease and desist orders and notices of violation but they never attended to them, thus our legal officer then initiated the filing of the case,” he said.
Salda said there is a need to look into the status of all the communal forests in this capital town, as well as in other areas in the province to ensure that there will be water to support agriculture and that the future generation will still have forests to enjoy.
This is not the first time that the municipal government initiated a case pertaining to a communal forest. One is still pending before the Supreme Court related to the 75-hectare Puguis Communal Forest, which has been reduced to about 45 hectares. **Liza Agoot
