From the mail bag

Media

Part of Forestry Leaves

Title: From the mail bag
Language: English
Year: 1953
Rights
Fulltext: Republic of the Philippines Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources BUREAU OF FORESTRY PHILCUSA AND CLASSIFICATON MANILA Personnel Supervision His Exellency The President of the Philippines Malacafian, Manila February 2, 1953 (Through the Honorable, the Secretary of Agriculture & Natural Resources, and the Director of Forestry, Manila) Your Excellency: I have the honor to present to your Excellency, for due consideration, the appeal of the Bureau of Forestry personnel who are assigned in the new Division cf Land Classification which is charged with the duty of implementing and executing largP. scale Ian:! classification all over the Philippines in conformity with the plan approved by MSA and PHILCUSA under Counterpart Project No. 19 and ia consonance with your program of general economic mobilization on agriculture, thereby accelerating with more impetus the execution of your sologan "give land to the landless". This ap,:eal is prompted by the recent decision of the Budget Ccmmissloner to reduce the salaries which some employees are actually receiving, contrary to the agreement re:i.ched by MSA and PHILCUSA authorities in the processing of this project, which agreement was duly approved by the MSA authorities in Washington, bdore turning over to the Bureau of Forestry (land classification) Counterpart Project No. 19 for implementation and execution. In the screen:ng and processing of this project by the personnel of the Bureau of Forestry with the Philcusa authorities, a quota of at least 400,000 hectares a year or 2,000,000 hectares in 5 years was agreed upon to be classified all over the Philippines. Because of the large amount of money involved in salaries and expenses, the number of teams to execute the project was reduced to a workable minimum which is 40 with 3 members in a team, one chief and two assistants. This set up requires that a team has to work continuously for 5 years in order to cover at least 50,000 hectares with no let up, rain or shine, Sundays and holidays GRADUATION ISSUE-March, 1953 observed as ord:nary days with office work at nights. foregoing many convencences of life that are being enjoyed by other employees of the same rank, but detailed in other activitie3. These men accepted this arduous job of land classification, because it is the only way they can save themselves and their families from f:nancial embarrassment. Now that they are on the right road of making b:>th ends meet, here comes the unpleasant news of salary reduction, and what is even worse, they may be compelled to . pay back the salary differences. The reduction of salaries is unfair as it saps their vitality and morale, and is very discouraging not only to them but also to their families. It is a phantom that haunts them in their sleepless nights. With depressed spirit, concentration and devotion to this work to the maximum could no longer be expected of them. The result would be far from the standard quality that they have pledged to uphold. When we presented our appeal to the Budget Commissioner sometime ago, he made a comparison of the salaries as provided in the 1953 budget of employees of equal rank with the items provided for the members of the new Division of Land Classification forgetting to take into account the PGEA slogan "equal work equal pay and more and harder work more pay". He also cited one item of a topographical draftsman at a salary of P2, 760.00. This particular item in the justification of Counterpart Project No. 19, was itemized as Assitant Chief Draftsman, but Philcusa objected to the title Assistant Chief, so it was changed to topographical draftsmail, at the same rate of salary. The employee occupying this item has behind him more than 40 years of service as topogra9hical draftsman. It is not amiss to state in this connection the remark of Secretary Mapa as Secretary of Agricuture and Natural Resources when he once visited the Bureau of Farer.try that the quality of the work of one draftsman he happened to scrutinize was worth P75.00 a month when told of the actual salary of the particular draftsman. As to the other draftsmen and computers affected by the reduction of salaries, we should say this much by actual obJervation. These employees, bafore they received their present salaries, were somewhat sickly, always depressed and not disposed to use their maximum efficiency in their daily work. Being a membar of the Legislative Council· of the Page 75 PGEA, the Director of Forestry challenged me, in one of our monthly flag ceremonies, to help him. boost the morale of the Bureau of Forestry employees. As the challenge was accepted, I had to make a study of the real cause of the seeming apathy of the employees to do more work and exert more effort in finishing the job assigned to them. I found this to be the real common cause. Most of them do not take breakfast in their houses because there was insufficient food for the members of their families, so they go to the office with empty stomach. Whlie in the office, by force of necessity they asked permission to get a bite on credit from nearby carenderias and the general complaint that I always received was that these people had not yet paid their long standing debts. But with the salaries that they are receiving now, the office atmosphere has changed for the better. They are now more radiant, attentive to their work, turn more output, and efficiency is high because their morale is h1gt1. In this connection, it is not amiss to mention the praises of the public that the Bureau of Forestry is the most efficient bureau in the Government; even the Bell Mission said this. But comparing the salaries of the employees and chiefs of divisions ot this Bureau with other Bureaus, the glaring differences are very discouraging. "Equal work equal pay, more efficient work more pay'', should be the criterion in evaluating the increases or reductions in the salaries of all employees even Chiefs of Divisions. As to the Regional Inspector, I have this to say. With the initial 15 teams to supervise, the salary of P4,800.00 per annum is really quite high but with the addition of 25 more to make 40 teams, it means that each inspector has to supervise the field work of 10 teams; This number is quite big and strenuous to supervise and therefore, the salary of P4,800.00 is more than justified. To justify the respective positions and salaries of the Forest Coordinator and Assistant Forest Coordinator as Chief and Assistant Chief of the new Division of Land Classification, the following comparative data are submitted: It can not be gainsaid that the volume of work of the new Division of Land Classification compared with the work handled by me as Chief of the then Division of Forest Engineering with a salary of P5,100.00 is more than double with only 15 organized teams, but with the addition of 25 more teams, the volume of work is more than 5 times. With the addition to this Division of Forest Invetttory work which is under consideration by MSAPHILCUSA authorities, inevitably the work in volume will increase to 7 times more than that of the former Division of Forest Engineering. Page 76 It is evident that the volume of work handled by the Forest Coordinator is applicable to the Assistant Forest Coordinator who alternates with the Forest Coordinator when the latter goes on field inspection, as either on!! will always be on field inspection and supervision. In this connectin, I wish to state that an additional compensation for the Director of Forestry is long overdue, because other Directors have long been receiving theirs. In like manner, the Chiefs of Division of the Bureau of Forestry as the more eff'.cient Bureau according to the Bell Report, should b& given their just due in the increase of pay as already long enjoyed by Chiefs of Division of other bureaus. In conclusion, I wish to reiterate our pledge when we accepted our respective positions under Counterpart Project No. 19, that we shall abide by whatever decision in the scale of salaries that will be given to us after the completion of our mission under the MSA-PHILCUSA projects. With profound respect, we are in watchfully waiting for your Excellency's kind and just decision. Very respectfully, ( Sgd.) DOROTEO SORIANO Forest Coordinator • • • • REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources BUREAU OF FORESTRY Office of the Provincial Forester Cagayan de Oro City D-3 7, Supervision Administration The Director of Forestry Manila Sir: July 7, 1952 I have the honor to submit hereunder the report on our work accomplished in public relations and extension service during the month of June, 1952. On June 11, 1952, the undersigned, acting on the instruction contain9d in the letter of the Director of Forestry, dated June 7, 1952, and designated "Forest Products-Exhibit (Floating Exposition, 1952)', detailed Rangers Anselmo S. Garcia and Alfredo L. Genia and Sr. Forest Guard Macario Cabaraban of this Office to meet the LST 75 carrying the 1st Post-War Floating Exposition. Unfortunate'y, however, the LST 75 failed to show up. It was not until 5: 00 p.m. of the following day that said Floating Exposition dropped anchor at Cagayan de Oro City port. The undersigned together with the personnel detailed in this work were on hand to meet and see Mr. Alberto C. Felix of the Fiber Inspection Service to assist him in attending to about 2,000 people who came and asked information about our various forest exhibits. FORESTRY LEAVES On June 13th, the President of the Philippines, arrived here. The whole District Headquarter's force formed a part of the thousands of people who went to the port to welcome the President. At the reception at the Cagayan de Oro wharf several posters were displayed to catch the President's attention. Among the posters which concerned us were the following: "WHY KEEP THE FORESTAL LAND IDLE? MR. PRESIDENT, SUBDIVIDE THEM TO THE FARMERS"; and "RECLASSIFICATION OF FOREST LANDS, WATER SYSTEM, EXTENSION OF ABACA LOAN IS REQUESTED BY KINOGUITAN DELEGATION." Later in the day, during the conference held in the courtroom of the provincial capitol, the undersigned came out to advocate the speedy implementation of the Minimum Wage Law for government employees rece1vmg sub-minimum wages; and for the approval of House Bill No. 3133 amending the original Back Pay Law (Rep. Act No. 304); I also gave out the necessary information to the President in connection with the Hib:ik-hibok resettlement in Claverie, Misamis Oriental. Please see '.Enclosure, marked "A". On June 22nd the DACAMS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION, of .which I am the President, held its annual meeting. The general election of the members of the Boai;-d. of Directors of said association for the fiscal year 1952-53 was also held on the same day. For details, please see enclosure, marked "B". On June 26th, I attended the JRC program held in the premises of the Misamis Oriental High School wherein I was privileged to deliver the "Greetings" to the Junior Red Cross workers composed of public school pr:ncipals and supervising teachers. Please refer to the Enclosure, marked "C" Very respectfully, VICENTE R. MARABABOL Provincial Forester • * • • PHILCUSA Land Classification Party Marbel, Koronadal, Cotabato January 1, 1953 Honorable Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr. President of the Senate Legislative Building, Manila Sir: With reference to Republic Act No. 186, in behalf cf the more than one hundred graduated rangers in 1938, and the years prior to the said date: I have the honor to request that Repub:ic Act No. 186 be amended to as to include the graduate rangers of the School of Forestry, University of the Philippines, at the time they were appointed and who have been in the service continuously for ten GRADUATION ISSUE--March, 1953 successive years to the present (approved June 21, 1947) time, are considered, to all intent and purposes, civil service eligibles as Foresters (the equivalent of Senior Teachers) with all the rights and privileges appertaining to the status of permanent empolyees in the Philipp:ne Government. Basing from the curricula in the annual report of the Director of the Bureau of Education in 1938 (now Bureau of Public Schools), it reveals that the Philippine Normal School and the Philippine School of Arts and Trades graduates carried 49 units and 98 units, respectively. The ranger graduates carried more than 100 units. Sp~c f caily, the graduated rangers in 1931 carried a total of 107 units, or 58 units more than the Normal School graduates end 9 units more than the Philippine School of Arts and Trades graduates who were extended the automatic eligibility under the provisions of the said Republic Act No. 186. In soliciting amendment from that august body of the said Act, in favor of the rangers, it is my humble opinion, that the. rangers may not be asking special privileges, but they are only pleading for fair and square deal. It is believed that they also deserve the automatic eligibility under the said Act. In this connection, the forest rangers concerned have spent the greater part of their lives in the Bureau's service, working silently, but patiently and diligently, with great sacrifice, with the hope, that some day something, as if a· gift from above, will fall in their laps to compensate their great efforts and sacrifice. But unfortunately, all hopes were in vain. They were overlooked, not included in the very important law which affact their chosen profession. The forest rangers ought no longer be silent. If they will not cry and tell what they need, nobody knows that they too, need something. It is now imperatively necessary to tell the proper authorities about their deplorable plight that they also need the same extended privilege given as gift to the more fortunate public servants by the Republic Act No. 186. If the teachers deserve consideration because they sacrifice much within the bounds of the four walls of their classrooms, the forest rangers, for sure, sacrifice more than the teachers. The forest rangers, to mention a few, not only confine themselves within the four walls of their offices, but their major work is within the bounds of the three sides of the largest triangle, the land, the sea and the sky. As for example, the forest rangers executing the reconnaissance and the land classification works in the remote corners of the Philippines, not only depr:ved of the association of their families for a quite a long period, they have to work in the unknown regions, sometimes inhabited by hostile tribes, traversing rivers, gulleys, ravines, precipices, hills, mountains, marshes, swamps and sea. In many occasions these poor forest rangers have Page 77 t<> pass their n:ghts in the jungles of unknown region with the open sky as roof, brushes as walls and the bare ground as mats for their shelter. I consider it a big debt from you and your colleagues for every effort that may - b:! extended which may be instrumental to the attainment of the objective of this letter. It is hoped that the good result of your benevolent support for this cause will remain engraved in all the hearts of those forest rangers concerned. Very respectfully, • BRUNO ABIOG Sr. Ranger • • • • October 11, 1952 The Director of Forestry Manila, Philippines My dear Director: I have the honor to enclose herewith my travel program and itinerary dated October 6 together with a copy each of "Agricultural Handbook No. 27, Northeastern Loggers' Handbook, forty seven sheets of Equipment survey notes covering various "Improved Harvesting Methods" and a complete set of -practical pointers to field agencies regarding "Small Sawmill Improvement." With the hope that these niater:als may be of some use in the Logging Training Center Institute, I am sending them thru the kindness of Dr. Mabbum of the Central Bank. As regards to my work, I have the honor to report that besides being able to finish all by the end ot this month I have been able to make the required side trips as stated in my program within the range of 500 miles from Madison. The success of my work here was all due to the kind help, courtesies, and splendid cooperation extended to me since my a1rival at the Laboratory···by all the personnel of the Laboratory from the Director down to the last man. May I request, therefore, that our Bureau make the proper acknowledgment besides my personal expressions of gratitude to each and everyone of them before leaving for Missoula, Montana, on November 1st. In this connection, Mr. Coleman, Chief, Division of Information and Education of the Laboratory is requesting for a copy of the list of materials and equipment of our laboratory for their information and reference. I brought a copy here but after checking the items therein I sent it back thni Forester Sajor. Another request for a copy of same is is made by the Chief Conservator of Forests, Rangoon, Burma. He was here with an assistant trying frantically to_ prepare a list of equipment with the corresponding prices and trade marks as they were 2iven only four days to do it. I was told that their Laboratory will be made like this one here because they even asked for the same architect who prepared Page 78 the plan of the building. What surprised me is that apparently they are allowed to buy all their machineries and equipment direct from the U.S. The Minister of Agr:culture who heads the Burmese delegation is now in Washington laying the groundwork for the purchase of the materials they need for their laboratory. Perhaps by this time you are already informed of the results of the Philippine Mahogany hearing. Mr. Coleman and Dr. Kukacha, the:r wood technologist were in Washington last week. They both are of the belief that it is going to be status quo. It turned out that the dealers of the African Mahogany who were very vociferous in their condemnation of the use of Philippine ¥ahogany which is not Mahogany were equally guilty of the same crime, if it is a crime at all, by using African Mahogany for woods consisting of 4 species that are not mahogany at all. With my warmest regards to you and each and everyone of our Colleagues. Very respectfully (Sgd.) EUGENIO DE LA CRUZ • • • • Republic of the Philippines Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources BUREAU OF FORESTRY Canlaon Reforestation Project P. 0. Box 114, Bacolod City D-28, Forest Planting The Director of Forestry Manila May 30, 1952 (Thru Provincial Forester, Fabrics, Neg. Occ.) Sir: I have the honor to inform you that Senior Forester Evaristo Tabat of the Manila Office inspected this Project from May 17-22, 1952. He arrived at Bacolod City unannounced at about 2 P.M. on May 17, 1952. Due to lack of transportation facilities, he could not, much against his desire, proceed direct to the project. The next day, being Sunday, he was persuaded to take a rest since he was a couple of days ahead of his time-table. Senior Forester Evaristo Tabat and Junior Forester Carlos Cunanan, left Bacolod City at about 7 A.M., May 19, 1952, arriving Mambucal, Murcia, Negros Occidental at about 9 A.M. the same day. Forester Tabet was deeply moved by the ruthlessness of men when he saw the burned Benguet pine plantation and the inhuman blazes, curvings, and letterings on the trunks of trees. It should be mentioned in passing that Forester Tabet was instrumental in the establishment of the once beautifu' forest plantations at the Mambucal Summer Resort Cooperative Reforestation Project. From the Resort, he proceeded on foot direct to the Lamintak Subsidiary Nursery. He inspected the FORESTRY LEAVES laborers quarters affected by "Amy" and the repairs dona. He propounded questions to our laborers. undoubtedly to find out how much they knew of their work. He noted our procedure of potting the Benguet pine seedlings with the use of banana sheaths, and advised the Officer in Charge to make observations as to results. He checked our water system and found that our clamor for pipes was reasonable. At about 1 P.M. Forester Tabat returned to Mambucal, where Forester Melecio Lopez joined him. Due to impending bad weather after a belated lunch, the party proceeded to Bacolod enroute to the Central Nursery. It must be mentioned in this connection that the Bago River collapsible bridge was being threatened by flood at the time. On May 20, 1952, at about 8 A.M. the party (Foresters Tabat and.Lopez, Senior Ranger Vicente Agaloos and the undersigned) left Bacolod City and arrived at the Calapnagan Central Nurstory, Calagnagan, La Castellana, Negros Occidental at about 11 A.M. the same day. Immediately upon arrival, he checked our planting stock on hand and the average heights of the different species, the adjacent plantations and our water supply. He saw again the necessity of providing this nursery with pipes. He was impressed with our progress and our strategic location in so far as showing our work to the public. He hinted of having a better building for office and quarters. In the afternoon Foresters Tabat and Lopez had conference with the squatters. At night the personnel tendered a lechonada party which ended in dancing until the wee hours of the morning with intermissions of vaudeville contests. The next Morning (May 21, 1952) Forester Tabat accompanied by Forester Lopez, Administrative Officer Vicente Agaloos and the Officer in Charge inspected the Narra plantations and the proposed Central Nursery. At about 8 A.M. the party proceeded to Fabrica via Bacolod to inspect the forest subsidiary nursery at So. Masolog, 6 Kms. from the nursery thereat. After visiting the Insular Lumber Mill and paying a courtesy call to old friends (Dona Albina Vda. de Lopez and children) the party minus Senior Ranger Vicente Agaloos returned tc Bacolod, from which point Forester Tabat, the following morning (May 22, 1952) took M/V Florentino for Manila via Iloilo City. Very respectfully, (Sgd.) CARLOS CUNANAN Officer in Che.rge Canlaon Reforestation Project GRADUATION ISSUE-March, 1953 February 4, 1953 Mr. Bruno Abiog Sr. Ranger PHILCUSA Land Classification Party Marbel, Koronadal, Cotabato My dear Mr. Abiog: This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated January 1, 1953, requesting that Republic Act No. 186 be amended to the effect that rangers who were graduates of the School of Forestry, University of the Philippines, at the time of their appointments and who have been in the service continously for ten ( 10) successive years as of June 21, 1947 be also considered as civil service eligibles as Foresters. I shall study this matter carefully and rest assured that justice will be done to the rangers who are rendering efficient service to the government. My best regards to you. Sincerely yours, E. RODRIGUEZ, Sr. * * * OREGON STATE COLLEGE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY Corvallis, Oregon February 9, 1953 Mr. Julian R. Meimban, Jr. Associate Editor Forestry Leaves College of Forestry University of the Philippines College, Laguna, Philippines Dear Mr. Meimban: I would be p!eased to have you reprint the article in the American Journal of Forestry, September 1952 issue. Sincerely. (SGD.) W. F. McCULLOCH Acting Dean • • • • Professor W. F. McCulloch School of Forestry Oregon State College Corvalis, Oregon, U.S.A. Dear Sir: January 31, 1953 I have the honor to ask permission to reprint an article of yours which appeared in the American Journal of Forestry in September, 1952, because it is in the opinion of the Board of Management, as well as the Adviser of the Forestry Leaves, Organ of the Alumni and Student Body of the College of Forestry, that said article would be of great in( Continued on paie 92) Page 79