Presence of Armed Men Threatening Efforts To Protect Masungi Georeserve In Baras, Rizal

Park rangers in Masungi Georeserve in Baras, Rizal, a protected conservation site, are facing imminent threats to their safety as armed men continue to hound protected land in the area, the management of the conservation site said on Monday, Oct. 26.

On Friday, Oct. 23, armed guards fenced off portions of the protected site under reforestation, even if they were unable to present any documents allowing them to do so, according to the Masungi Georeserve.

Billie Dumaliang, Masungi Georeserve’s advocacy officer and trustee, told The Philippine STAR that the presence of armed men has prevented park rangers from doing their rounds in the conservation site, which is part of their mission to protect and preserve the site’s land and its diverse wildlife.

“Their mere presence (armed guards) there are already a threat to their safety,” Dumaliang said in an interview.

According to Dumaliang, the foundation has been trying to dismantle the illegal settlement of the armed guards as they keep returning and rebuilding the fences.

Inspection on the site early Monday by rangers and the foundation raised fears that the pieces of young trees the guards used to enclose a parcel of land they claim belongs to Rublou Inc., were illegally logged from a nearby watershed inside the site.

Rublou has subsidiaries involved in meat distribution, real estate and renewable energy. Masungi management said the guards also identified themselves with Green Atom, Rublou’s renewable energy subsidiary.

According to its website, Green Atom’s board of directors is chaired by Luizo Ticman, a retired Philippine National Police official who had earlier been accused of harassing owners of a parcel of land also in Rizal.

The guards, who were first reported to have erected fences in the area on Friday, have been surveilling the area days before the incident.

Lack of environmental enforcement

The Masungi Georeserve is engaged in an ambitious restoration and rewilding of about 3,000 hectares of degraded lands around the limestone formations in its Geopark Project.

The reservation has suffered from alarming tree and animal poaching, as well as quarrying and land trafficking operations.

The area fenced off by the guards is part of the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape and the Masungi Wildlife Sanctuary and Strict Nature Reserve. These were declared protected areas under Proclamation No. 296 issued in 2011, meaning that they must be protected against destructive exploitation.

"I think everyone, including the government, recognizes the lack of environmental enforcement and the lack of protection afforded to rangers. That is why the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) is pushing for a new law on this,” Dumaliang said.

During Monday’s inspection, Dumaliang also bared that vast charcoal pits were seen in the previously fenced area, whiffs of which indicate that they were fresh.

“We try to remove the fences, however, every day, the armed guards return and build structures in the area,” she said.

Masungi Georeserve fears that the guards were still in the area despite the dismantling of their fences.

“They are still around the area, with their barracks in a resort in Sitio San Roque. Our rangers are trying to hold the fort,” Dumaliang said.

Masungi reported the incident to the police in hopes of protecting the land and their rangers against the threat of the guards, but were implored to file a blotter report instead. Dumaliang said they would be following up for a response.

Reached for comment, Baras municipal police chief Capt. Junar Briones said sending armed individuals to take over lands is not allowed, especially without pertinent documents.

But he explained the police cannot intervene in civil cases. But if the armed men in the area were to disrupt peace and order in the protected area, they would be ready to respond.

“There is a nearby Regional Mobile Force Battalion camp in the area, ready to respond to any disorder. We are in constant communication with the management of Masungi,” Briones told The STAR.

Masungi Georeserve called on a multisectoral approach to ensure that those violating laws that protect the site’s areas from encroachment and exploitation will be brought to justice.

“Meanwhile, all actors including civil society need to work together to make sure those who make a mockery of the law and our protected areas are actually convicted. Right now they feel they can get away with it. We need sustainable solutions if we want to save whatever's left of our forests,” Dumaliang said.