The Group of Environmental Socialists, alongside the Door Step To New Life Foundation Inc., observed the International Day for Biological Diversity earlier this week by submitting a letter to the Negros Occidental Provincial Prosecutor’s Office seeking the investigation and prosecution of individuals who erect illegal structures at the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP).
The letter was also sent to the National Bureau of Investigation-Environmental Crime Division.
The group also noted, while the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has prosecuted a “handful” of “small-time environmental violators,” they claim the big-time violators have been shielded from prosecution.
They also recommended filing graft charges against certain DENR officials whom they characterized as “inept.”
The International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated every May 22 and was established by the United Nations in 2000.
“Biological diversity is vital for human health and well-being,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres ahead of this year’s observance. “I urge all—governments, businesses, and civil society—to take urgent action to protect and sustainably manage the fragile and vital web of life on our one and only planet.”
Last month, the group, in partnership with the Greening Carlos Hilado Memorial State College (CHMSC) Task Force, Fraternal Order of Eagles-Bacolod Eagles Club, and the La Consolacion College-Bacolod environmental community, hosted a dialogue at the CHMSC-Talisay City campus at the Green Building Function Hall.
“We need a conversation that includes everyone,” said the environmental socialist leader Randy James Rojo. “This is about how we are shaping the future of our planet and our beloved Negros.”/WDJ