Of forests, floods, and the timber industry

Title

Creator

Aquino, Jose C.

Language

English

Source

Panorama Volume XVIII (No. 4) April 1966

Year

1966

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

This is a privileged speech delivered by Congressman Aquino before the House of Representatives March 21, 1966

Fulltext

■ This is a privileged speech delivered by Congress* man Aquino before the House of Representatives March 21, 1966. Being a logger himself, he de fends his side. OF FORESTS, FLOODS, AND THE TIMBER INDUSTRY A great misconception has swept the minds of many of our people on the subject. They blame those who pro duce dollars for our econo my out of our timber re sources, for many ills due to other causes. Mr. Speaker, it is about time the mistaken notion on floods and forests be ended. It is for this, reason that to day I have decided to take the floor for a vital industry. The timber industry is a relatively new industry. It was only in the middle of the '1950’s that our country has found a thriving market for our wood products abroad. In such market, it has strong competition. As an infant industry therefore, it needs earnest and sustain ed government support. Not so many, Mr. Speaker, have succeeded in taking off from the crude manner of utilizing our timber resources to mechanized process. For one to be successful, he must be backed up by adequate capital. For capital to be adequate, it must be substan tial. Such requisite for an in dustry to grow has imposed on those engaged to sink life time earnings, millions of pesos in their ventures. They face big risks and hazards. But they contribute immense, ly to the nation’s economy. Today, Mr. Speaker, the timber industry, in a little over 10 years, has grown to the third biggest dollar earn ing export industry of the country. Credit its growth to the enterprise of those who succeeded in the busi ness. Credit it, to the labors and sacrifices of those who have cast their lot in the in dustry; credit it to their dar ing, their sustained effort, their capacity for hardships, and to their tenacity and de April 1966 43 termination to succeed ih life. Credit such success to the vast experience they har nessed and to their outlook in business, economics and management. To those who pioneered in the industry and succeed ed should go the honor and laurels in having transform ed our timber resources which lay idle and prostrate and without utility for cen turies into dollar resources, into economic goods, into money circulated for econo mic growth and for the good life and advancement of our people and of the nation. However, on the other side of the ledger, Mr. Speaker, the industry and those engaged in it are heap ed with ehdless blame for the wanton and criminal destruc tion, of our forests. Those in the industry are blamed for the tragedy brought by typhoons and floods, and for almost anything which causes harassment to our national patrimony. Justice and fairness de mand utmost caution, Mr. Speaker, for many have ha zard and advanced erroneous conclusions destructive to the industry. Many haVe poisoned the minds of our people that the industry has caused national catastrophe. Those in this preoccupation have maligned, impaired, and degraded the good name of an industry which brings tre mendous benefits to our peopie. They do not realize, that anything destructive to the industry is destructive to our economy. It is doubly destructive to the nation and its leadership. It all started perhaps, with the layman’s sharp approach to mass psychology, that a belief has firmed up on the effects of forestal cutting on the flow of floods. Such be lief, baseless as it is in fact and in truth, has been so articulated that at the drop of a hat, the timber industry gets the ax. Even our media of information has been car ried to the conclusion that it spells disaster. I wish to clear this mis conception, Mr. Speaker, I wish to do justice to the in dustry and, on the basis of scientific findings shatter to pieces the notion that the timber industry is the reason for floods, for damages to life and property, for des PANORAMA truction of our much valued watersheds. The Republic of the Phil ippines has not done much in this particular line of stu dy, but long years of scien tific study and research in the United States has elicited the following findings. According to the findings of Kittredge at the time di rector of the US Weather Bureau and a ranking mem ber of the American Society of Civil Engineers, in his book entitled, "Forest In fluences,” deforestation or re forestation do not affect considerably the water flow of streams or rivers. In no occasion, Kittredge stated, has reforestation appeared as a method of flood con trol. Conversely, the author ity added, it cannot be alleg ed that deforestation causes floods. These findings of Kit tredge was supported by the findings of Col. H. M. Chit tenden of the US Corps of Engineers, also an influen tial member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Colonel Chittenden, in a paper submitted to the Am erican Society of Civil En gineers, entitled: "Forests and Reservoirs in their rela tion to stream flow, with par ticular reference to navigable rivers,” stated in his findings that forests have no material influence on stream flow. This conclusion of Colonel Chittenden was subsequently supported by a report of the Special Committee on Flood Prevention of American So ciety of Civil Engineers. In a report submitted to the Society on its findings, the Special Committee on Flood Prevention pointed out that even advocates of reforesta tion as a means of flood con trol failed to give any quan titative determination on ef fects of forests upon floods. Again, these findings of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Special Committee on Flood Prevention, was corroborated by the late Al len Hazen, another reputable member of the society, who, after extensive and meticu lous investigation has reach ed the same conclusion. These findings, Mr. Speak er, are beyond question by laymen like us. Unless fur ther scientific studies and research show otherwise, it is only fair and just and rea sonable that we submit our Aran 1966 45 selves to the binding effect of what has been found true and valid conclusions. It is such a valuable document which should be preserved for policy guidance, for which reason, Mr. Speaker, I ask that same be included, in the proceedings, as part of my speech. I admit, Mr. Speaker, that there has been wanton and criminal destruction of cer tain forest areas. But cer tainly, such criminal acts were not and are not com mitted by legitimate loggers. They who invest millions in the timber industry want it to stay and grow. They have taken leadership in the eco nomic field and have nur tured the industry to the third bigjgest dollar earning export of the country. But take the kaingineros, Mr. Speaker, they ravage our forests and do not even con tribute to the coffers of the State. They do not pay taxes. They invest no ca pital. And there are the pi rates of the trade who, with out permit or license, and against the regulations, in vade our forestal zones and destroy the trees indiscrimi nately. They are not legi timate operators, Mr. Speak er, they are enemies of pub lic good and public interest. They are also enemies of loggers whose good name and business they destroy. For, most often, they are being mistaken for loggers. And they have aroused public hatred, indignation and con demnation against those righteously engaged in the industry. The kaingineros and the pirates of the logging indus try, who do not care to what will happen to our patrimo ny, deserve severe penalty. They should be metted hea vier penalty, and our laws should provide more punish ment against these sinister group who dastardly destroy our forests. In justice to the Bureau of Forestry and the Depart ment of Agriculture, and the personnel who comprise the working forces of these agen cies, we cannot blame them for the rampant denudation of our forest areas. They lack the force that can exe cute effectively our forest laws and regulations. They also lack funds enough to cover program of effective enforcement. These agen 46 Panorama cies, Mr. Speaker, need more fiscal support to employ men adequate to apply forest laws and regulations and enforce them. The loggers, Mr. Speaker, also deserve government as sistance. They need more credit facilities. They desire more sound policy on forest exploitation and utilization so that they can employ sound planning and pro gramming of their operations. It is now our duty in Con gress to provide this, Mr. Speaker. To discourage squatters and kaingineros from ravag ing our forest resources, they should be relocated. Vast and fertile lands along open ed roads and highways in Mindanao and other places of the country are lying idle. They haye been cleared and made ready for cultivation. But they are still, in our re cords of government, classi fied as forest lands. Many have squatted on and culti vated these areas. But they cannot call these land their own. The release of these areas, Mr. Speaker, to those who have established posses sion and have made improve ments on them will help lo cate squatters and kaingine ros. Giving them lands they can call their own may pre vent them from destroying our forests zones. It is high time, therefore, that our fo rest classification be updated. The Administration, Mr. Speaker, is committed to a program which will provide more incentive and encour agement to the processing of wood products. This is very laudable. I fully agree with President Ferdinand Marcos, and I completely endorse his commitment to the wood in dustry in his State of the Nation Address and I quote— The promotion of the wood production industry by lifting the percentage tax on all domestic sales of logs for manufacture or produc tion into wood products and by imposing a tax on all for eign sales of logs. We have the necessary capacity and potential for producing ve neer, plywood, wood pulp and other wood products for export. If there be a neces sity for setting up new wood processing factories or ex panding existing ones, a por tion of the increment from this tax policy shall be made available as loans for finan April 1966 47 cing these industries. It is indeed incongruous that by our expensive logging exports are provided foreign competition of our wood products with the valuable raw mate rials which makes strong competition possible — un quote. To this, Iv add that circular sawmills should be discouraged by reason of the small recovery made on raw materials. The loggers, want a new light of day in business. Mr. Speaker, that is why, it is the desire of both entrepreneurs and investors in the logging business that the Bureau of Forestry be headed by one of experience. It’s director must be seasoned in forestry matters. He must under stand the logging business and the mechanics of logging operations. The Director of Forestry ■ must also have the capacity to anticipate pro blems which may come the way of the industry. A limit to the cutting of timber, in order to preserve our patrimony, deserves sup port. Such limit is needed in order that we can carry on for a long time the sup ply of the best mahogany in the world market. Limit to timber cutting must also be coupled with sustained con servation and reforestation. Our source of raw material supply and of our valuable dollar earnings must be con served if not augmented. This underscores the need for selective logging, Mr. Speaker, and, with the policy to encourage wood process ing to realize more dollar earnings from our wood pro ducts should be a policy of long-term license grant to wood processors. It is in keeping with sound policy, to discourage short-t erm grant of licenses to loggers. It only impels fly-by-night operators to rush accumula tion of profit. As a conse quence, they often disregard regulations. They labor on the fear that next time their licenses will not be renewed or extended. This stifleis investment, Mr. Speaker, on the other hand, long-term licenses affords them sound planning. It gives them boldness in investment for they can find stability in operations and foresee more guarantee of return of capi tal and of profit. This forum, Mr. Speaker, must bring realization to 48 Panorama the truth. Let us not enter tain fear that the cutting of big trees in our forests will cause us less water supply or that such cutting will cause deluge or big floods. Let us not labor under a mis taken notion, a misconcep tion that the loggers have caused undue depletion of our patrimony. Let us sub mit to the scientific findings of authorities who made stu dies in the field. Let us wage a bigger cam paign against the kaingineros and the pirates for they com prise the group of men who philander our forests. Let us put more teeth to policy involving the wood industry. Let us line up measures which can firm up these ends. Let us prevent reckless des truction of our forests as we give incentive and encourage ment to wood processing. Those engaged in this indus try deserve added support from the Government. — By Rep. Jose C. Aquino. MENTAL DECAY THRU INDOLENCE The failure of the mind in old age is often less the result of natural decay than of disuse. — Am bition has ceased to operate; contentment breeds indolence, and indolence decay of mental power, en nui, and sometimes death. — Men have been known to die, literally speaking, of disease induced by in tellectual vacancy. — Sir B. Brodie. April 1966 49

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