DIPOLOG CITY, Jan. 16 (PIA) - - City Mayor Evelyn T. Uy and her executive secretary Edwin A. Bation were recently appointed as Presidential Anti-illegal Logging Task Force (PAILTF) coordinators in the province of Zamboanga del Norte effective Jan. 13.
Task force executive director retired General Renato P. Miranda issued Task Force Order No. 32 naming Mayor Uy and Bation as coordinators of said group for Zamboanga del Norte to serve as partners in the implementation of PAILTF’s social fences program aimed at protecting the natural and residual forests in the area. The two were known for their no-nonsense campaign for strict implementation of environmental laws.
As task force’s lead coordinator, Mayor Uy has been empowered to recruit members for the PAILTF through the constitution of a local task force for Zamboanga del Norte. This is to encourage citizens’ participation in the environmental protection program.
Presently, 52 volunteer-applicants from the different municipalities have signified to join the task force.
PAILTF is composed of five government agencies, namely, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of National Defense (DND), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The task force was a sequel to the issuance of Executive Order No. 23 by President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino on February 1, 2011, mandating it to take the lead in the anti-illegal logging campaign and ensure the implementation of said order under the supervision of DENR.
Mayor Uy and Bation were among the deputized environment and natural resources officers (DENROs) by the DENR secretary to assist in the enforcement of environmental laws. (FPG/CIO/PIA-Zamboanga del Norte)
