By Paulo Loreto Lim

The Negros Occidental Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) recently filed a criminal case against Rolando Oyco of Don Salvador Benedicto, in violation of RA 7586, or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992.
According to a PENRO press release, officials caught Oyco in the act of attending to a charcoal pit, after finding several trees in the area were cut down.
A total of 10 trees inside the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP) were found to be damaged and cut down for the purpose of making charcoal, with an estimated volume of 4.59 cubic meters.
The individual in question was operating without a permit and is said to be in violation of Section 20 of the NIPAS Act, which prohibits within protected areas the “hunting, destroying, disturbing, or mere possession of any plants or animals or products derived therefrom without a permit from the Management Board.”
The section also forbids “mutilating, defacing, or destroying objects of natural beauty.”
PENRO-Negros Occidental OIC Edgardo Rostata also urged the public to get involved in agency advocacies and to report similar incidents to their office./WDJ