PH forest cover is an asset – Marcos

BAGUIO CITY: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday maintained a strong stance against irresponsible mining, saying that the country’s forest cover is a “very valuable asset for the Philippines” that can spur economic growth and development.

Marcos made the statement as he promised that his administration will do a meticulous balancing to protect the environment and enforce the country’s law on responsible mining.

Speaking to reporters, the President said the country can now monetize its forest cover — giving it a peso value or a dollar value, and also take advantage of being more active in promoting and monitoring, regulating, and encouraging the care of its forests.

“In terms of protecting the environment, it’s very clear what the position of this government has always been. It has been an important part of all our policies, that we are environmentally conscious, that we are moving the economy towards green technologies, we are moving our production of power towards renewables,” Marcos said during a media interview when asked about his policy direction towards protecting the environment in the Cordillera, especially regarding mining.

“So in that regard, all our forest cover is important and must remain — that is giving the Philippines. We fall into the category of a carbon sink country because of our forest cover and so that is a very valuable asset for the Philippines,” he added.

The President said his government would continue promoting responsible mining to avoid a repeat of mishaps that occurred in the past.

“And so, it is a question of enforcing the law in terms of responsible mining and that is what we will continue to do,” Marcos said.

“We will always make sure that the mining companies who come in, once they are finished mining, leave the site in the same condition as it was when they found it,” he added.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) oversees 15 million hectares of land classified as forestlands.

In 2011, the country’s forest cover was 6.8 million hectares but it increased by 5.6 percent or 7.2 million hectares, according to the recent 2020 data captured by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority.

The DENR has already laid down strategic plans and programs for the forestry sector, which offers strong potential for driving growth to the Philippine economy.

The department also aims to establish a conducive investment climate by developing a real-time, single-point access forestry investment portal that will provide information and services about forestry investment and ready areas for development and utilization.

The portal will have links to partner financial institutions’ financial and credit facilities, including the Development Bank of the Philippines, which supports the DENR’s agro-forestry plantation program.

It will also offer access to Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. insurance packages for selected tree species in developed forest plantations.