Tragedy in Aurora
One of the areas worst hit by calamity in November and December was the province of Aurora. Four of its eight municipalities sustained serious damage, and 11 barangays along the coastal areas of San Luis and Dingalan towns, which lie adjacent to each other were nearly obliterated. Hundreds perished and several thousands lost their homes in the landslides and flash floods that came in the wake of four successive typhoons.
Thousands of logs carried downstream when raging waters cascaded down the mountains were a glaring sight especially along the Dingalan coastline. This comes as no surprise since concessions owned by 10 logging companies cover 247,772 hectares or 82.6% of the province's entire land area. The largest among them are the Industries Development Corporation (57,069 hectares in Calasag, Casiguran and Dingalan); Inter-Pacific Forest Resources Corp. (50,000 hectares in Dilasag); Verdant Agroforest Development Corp. (45,600 hectares in Dipaculao, Aurora and Nagtipunan, Quirino); Pacific Timber Export Corp. (33,454 hectares in Dilasag, Aurora and Dinapigue, Isabela); and Green Circle Properties and Resources Corp. (27,852 hectares in Dingalan).
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For many decades, the Ong family which owned the largest logging concessions in Aurora controlled reactionary politics in the province. The Ongs are allies of the Dy dynasty of Isabela.
That the Ong family had firm links to the fascist military and police, who in turn protected their businesses has long been evident. The Ong-owned Industries Development Corp. is situated right next to the Philippine Army and PNP Provincial Mobile Group's camps in Casiguran, Aurora. It was an open secret even then that the logging companies allotted no less than 10% of their capital to bribe the military and 15% to the governor to ensure that no one interfered with their operations.
Since the mid-1980's, through his position as senator, Edgardo Angara's clan slowly overtook the Ongs in controlling the province's politics and economy. Angara is now regarded as the godfather and protector of the big logging companies in Aurora. Among those closest to him is Green Circle owner Romeo Roxas.
Its control of logging companies and other big businesses in Aurora has enabled members of the Angara clan to take turns in holding important local government positions. Angara's sister, Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, used to represent Aurora's lone congressional district and is now the provincial governor. Angara's son Sonny is the present congressman of Aurora. His relatives also hold positions in the local government of Baler, their hometown.
In Metro Manila, Edgardo Angara furiously denied his clan's role in the death of so many people in Aurora and the destruction of their property and livelihood. Back in Aurora, however, his sister could not but come to the defense of big commercial logging and express opposition to a total logging ban. She was in chorus with Malaca�ang and DENR officials in heaping blame on small and so-called illegal loggers for the disaster that had taken place.
Ka Martin, a Party cadre in Aurora, strongly refuted the assertion that the massive landslides and flash floods were caused by what the government considered as illegal loggers�the kaingeros (slash-and-burn farmers) and businessmen enaged in the small-scale cutting, hauling, buying and export of logs. "Whatever damage they cause," he said, "is far smaller than that wrought by the big operators. Just by the act of constructing logging roads, the gigantic companies already excavate huge volumes of earth from the mountainside and cut down so many trees."
"We pity the small operators because it is they who will surely feel the heat from the government campaign," says Ka Martin. "From the government's point of view, it is they who are illegal because they cannot afford to offer bribes and engage in shady deals."
"The fact is that no one is really legal, in the strict sense of the word," he added. "Even companies that have been given logging permits systematically violate laws and policies promulgated by the reactionary government ostensibly for the benefit of the people and the environment." For instance, he said, these companies routinely violate limits set by the DENR on the volume of logs they could cut. "Loggers who have long filled up their quotas just have their permits recycled over and over so they could continue cutting logs," he said.
Ka Martin also refuted assertions that significant reforestation has taken place. If any, it is in places near the highway so that the logging companies have something to show. "The IFMA (Integrated Forest Management Agreement), that calls for loggers to plant Gmelina is sheer nonsense," he says. "These fragile wood trees cannot hold back raging flood waters. In reality,� he said, �Gmelina trees actually worsen the denudation of forests and mountains because they killing off other tree species as well as other crops and vegetation in surrounding areas."
"The biggest illegal logger is none other than the state," Ka Martin emphasized, "and this is evident in the tragedy that occurred in Aurora."
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