{"id":181271,"date":"2018-09-12T21:38:02","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T01:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=181271"},"modified":"2018-09-12T21:38:02","modified_gmt":"2018-09-13T01:38:02","slug":"solon-urges-denr-buy-choppers-monitor-illegal-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/09\/12\/solon-urges-denr-buy-choppers-monitor-illegal-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"Solon urges DENR to buy choppers to monitor illegal activities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Ejercito made the recommendation after finding out during the Senate hearing of the DENR\u2019s proposed PHP24.171-billion budget for 2019 that the agency has practically no flying assets. (File Photo<\/a>: JV Ejercito\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito on Wednesday called on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to consider buying helicopters to better fulfill its mandate in protecting, conserving and managing the country\u2019s environment and natural resources.<\/p>\n

Ejercito made the recommendation after finding out during the Senate hearing of the DENR\u2019s proposed PHP24.171-billion budget for 2019 that the agency has practically no flying assets.<\/p>\n

When asked by the lawmaker how the agency monitors illegal activities, DENR Undersecretary Ernesto Adobo Jr. said the agency relies on new technologies, like drones, and the LAWIN Protection System.<\/p>\n

LAWIN is a strategy that seeks to conserve the forest and biodiversity with the involvement of the community by using a mobile application to report real-time environmental abuses.<\/p>\n

Adobo said the agency has one helicopter, but it is rarely used due to the prohibitive cost of fuel and maintenance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very costly to maintain a chopper. Whenever we need a chopper, we ask the Department of National Defense (DND) for support,\u201d Adobo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an agreement with DND and we just pay for the flying hours whenever we need a helicopter,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Ejercito, however, said having their own air assets at their disposal would enable the DENR to effectively monitor illegal activities, especially in forested and protected areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs lawmakers, we travel a lot and we can see a lot of things from above. You could easily (see) the areas that you could not easily see on the ground,\u201d the senator said.<\/p>\n

Besides, he said, it would take authorities days to traverse forest areas, while it only takes hours or minutes it they do the same with a helicopter.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy worry especially is in mountainous areas and the eastern seaboard on the other side of the Cordilleras.\u00a0Mahirap puntahan yan<\/em>\u00a0(That\u2019s difficult to reach),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to be blind.\u00a0May<\/em>\u00a0black sand mining, open pit mining\u00a0na pala kung saan, hindi pa natin alam<\/em>\u00a0(There could be black sand mining or open pit mining anywhere and yet we could not be aware of it),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ejercito said the DENR could consider purchasing a Robinsons R44 chopper like the one being used by Senator Cynthia Villar in various public hearings and commitments throughout the country.<\/p>\n

He said it is one of the cheapest choppers in the market, calling it a \u201cpoor man\u2019s\u201d helicopter, and has low operating cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it costs about USD300,000. It is reliable and economical,\u201d Ejercito said.<\/p>\n

Villar, who was also present during hearing, supported the suggestion, saying the gasoline requirement of the R44 is only like that of a full-size 8-cylinder sport utility vehicle (SUV).<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you can purchase because having an eye in the sky is very important in environmental protection. It\u2019s very practical and maybe you can have one each for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,\u201d Ejercito said.<\/p>\n

He added that having helicopters is not a luxury but a necessity to monitor the country\u2019s remaining natural resources.<\/p>\n

Along with the drones and other technologies available, helicopters would enhance the DENR\u2019s capability in protecting the natural beauty of the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cNanghihinayang ako kasi ang ganda ng Pilipinas kaya lang napapabayaan. Ang sakit tignan na may nang-aabuso<\/em>\u00a0(I feel sad because the Philippines is such a beautiful country and yet it is not protected. It is painful to see someone abusing it),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Philippines is a beautiful country and I hope we can preserve what is still there,\u201d Ejercito said.<\/p>\n

DENR officials said they would seriously study the recommendation and immediately submit their proposals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito on Wednesday called on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to consider buying …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":181272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-jose-cielito-reganit","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}