Last week’s brushfire at Parongpong, the biggest of the Palumbanes group of islands off Caramoran town, burned a total of 14 hectares of grassland.
This was reported by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) Catanduanes to DENR Regional Executive Director Francisco E. Milla, Jr., following the conduct of field investigation.
A Facebook post by the Palumbanes Island Community Youth Organization on the night of Aug. 4, 2024 showing the blaze raging in the mountain just above the populated area of sitio Palumbanes triggered separate investigations by both the DENR and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Caramoran Municipal Fire Station.
Teams from the two agencies were accompanied by the barangay council and a representative of the youth group.
The following day, PENR Officer Imelda D. Baltazar immediately dispatched a monitoring/enforcement section team to conduct ground investigation to determine the extent of the damaged area.
According to the report, the brushfire affected approximately 14 hectares of grassland, which according to Punong Barangay Randy Bermejo is covered by Certificates of Land Ownership Agreement (CLOAs) and within alienable and disposable land.
The team failed to identify any person responsible for the brushfire, which left a black scar on the two-square kilometer island.
Both agencies agreed that the fire started in an area owned by a resident of the island, with the second fire caused by embers from the first incident.
The two incidents burned largely grassland and a few trees, with the tree seedlings planted recently not affected by the fire. The area lies on the route to Binanderahan Hills frequented by tourists.
Just a few hundred meters from the burned area is the hybrid solar-diesel power plant of the National Power Corporation that supplies 24/7 power to the island’s community.
The PICYO headed by Pres. Ignacio Sales has already filed a formal complaint, through adviser Rene Sales, with the barangay council’s Committee on Environment chaired by Kag. Freddie Tarnate for appropriate action regarding the brushfire incidents.
Aside from calling for a probe to identify who is responsible for the kaingin fire, the group asked the committee to enact or enforce regulations to deter the destruction of the island’s natural resources.
It likewise urged the council to call for a barangay assembly soonest to inform residents of the negative effects of kaingin on the environment.
Section 69 of Presidential Decree 705 penalizes the unlawful occupation or destruction of forest lands with a fine of not less than P500 or more than P20,000, and imprisonment of six months to two years for each offense.
Those found guilty of making kaingin shall be imprisoned for two to four years and ordered to pay a fine equal to eight (8) times the regular forest charges due on the forest products destroyed, without prejudice to the payment of the full cost of restoration of the occupied area.