In 2000, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources sought to encourage maximum and wise utilization of forest resources and allowed the orderly recovery and disposition of retrievable wood materials found within forestlands, alienable or disposable lands, private lands and along rivers, streams, oceans and other bodies of water.
Among these wood materials identified under DENR Administrative Order No. 78-00 were abandoned logs, sunken logs, uprooted and fire or typhoon-damaged trees, tree stumps, tops and branches.
The lot owner is the first priority in the recovery of fire or typhoon damaged and uprooted trees, tree stumps, tops and branches in public lands and private lands, respectively.
The National Resources Development Corporation (NRDC) gets top priority as far as abandoned logs are concerned while the finder of sunken or drifted logs is first in line in case of sunken and drifted logs.
However, illegal loggers, in connivance with unscrupulous DENR officials, took advantage of the directive and presented the logs as retrievable wood materials, prompting then Sec. Elisea Gozun to suspend the issuance of Wood Recovery Permits (WRPs).
Although such permits are suspended for now pending issuance of a moratorium or partial lifting of the suspension, the DENR can still issue WRPs for fallen or standing trees within titled or private lands.
The landowner will have to comply with the documentary requirements and pay a fee of P86 to the PENRO, with a higher fee for standing trees.
Likewise, the applicant will have to secure the services of registered chainsaw owners.
Last week, concerned about the need for lumber by thousands of families whose homes were either destroyed or damaged, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed a resolution asking the DENR to grant a moratorium or lifting of the suspension of WRP issuance as far as Catanduanes is concerned.
PBM Lorenzo Templonuevo Jr., who authored the measude, said the use of drifted logs and uprooted trees can contribute significantly to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged infrastructures such as schools, barangay halls, community centers, health clinics, and evacuation shelters.
He added that families in coastal areas severely affected by Uwan who are financially incapable of rebuilding their homes will benefit from the use of the forest materials.
It remains to be seen whether the DENR secretary would accede to the provincial board’s request, as the last time such a moratorium was granted was in 2022 in the wake of typhoon Odette.
Considering that the DENR only has seven or eight forest rangers, it would be too much to expect the agency to police the numerous coastal or riverside villages and ensure that no one would retrieve drifted logs or uprooted trees in the past two weeks since super typhoon Uwan left utter destruction on many homes.
For sure, hundreds of such logs and trees may have been already cut into serviceable lumber by typhoon victims and are now part of their new shelters.
No one, except perhaps the DENR, would dare charge them for violation of forestry laws at a time when they need whatever assistance they can get.
A more workable solution would be for someone in Congress to propose a bill legalizing the use of drifted logs and uprooted trees for post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction purposes.
Those who find and recover drifted logs can keep and use the same for rebuilding their homes while those who have uprooted trees within their properties can do the same.
For uprooted trees within public property such as roads and government lots, the trees can be cut into proper lumber sizes and distributed to typhoon victims who need them.
The recovery of the wood materials will have to be coordinated with the barangay captain in case of drifted logs and fallen trees within private property while those on public roads and government compounds will have to secure permission from the mayor or the appropriate agency.
Such a policy, if approved, would save the poor family man from incurring unnecessary expenses to apply for a wood recovery permit at PENRO Virac and pay the fees.
After all, what the national government, its agencies, the provincial government and the LGUs have given the homeless Uwan victims so far are GI sheets, food packs, rice, and cash not even enough to pay for four wooden posts and 2×2 lumber for the roof framing and walls.