The implementation of former President Benigno Aquino III’s executive order (EO) on total logging ban led to corruption, a study by state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) showed.
EO 23 failed not only to achieve its objectives of reversing the trend of deforestation in the country but also caused “damaging unintended economic and social consequences” including disruption of wood processing enterprises and increased corruption activities in the wood industry.
In its paper, PIDS visiting research fellow Vic Paqueo and senior research fellow Danilo Israel said “policymakers of EO 23 and its implementing rules underestimated the power of increased corruption that the order would unleash.”
The previous leadership did not foresee the creation of “lucrative opportunities and incentives” that lead to bribery and corruption among key players during the implementation of the total log ban, they noted.
Paqueo and Israel said the strength of institutional capacities and law enforcement as well as incidence of corruption and collusion can be viewed through the lens of “deep-rooted social issues.”
Inequalities in land tenure, discrimination against indigenous people and their land rights, subsistence farming and the poor and marginalized have a stake in design and implementation of logging-related policies,” they noted.
To substantiate their claim, Paqueo and Israel summarized the key impacts of EO 23 in logging and wood industry-dependent Caraga Region.
Since its implementation, the number of wood-processing enterprises in Caraga fell from 119 establishments in 2010 to 27 establishments at present.
There has also been a recorded increase in corruption and rent-seeking activities between government regulators and associations.
Cost of fees to transport wood through checkpoints and overloading fees at weighbridges surged.
Concurrently, the cost of doing business also increased.
The cost of production on the side of suppliers and direct cost for consumers and downstream industries made the logging and wood industry sector uncompetitive.
The study’s authors noted rural livelihood of small-scale timber production is “gravely affected as they were invariably unable to comply with required paperwork to legally operate.
EO 23 discouraged the practice of and investment in private tree-planting as it may create the uncertainty planters may not be able to harvest the trees they plant,” they noted.
This inadvertently resulted in the shift in resource management of forest land from the practice of common integrated logging systems to the common access mode of bygone days.
As an alternative to the current policy, the authors recommended a more holistic and realistic approach.
A sustainable, effective and economically sensible” strategy must meet needs of both conservation efforts and industries relying on logging.
Paqueo and Israel recommended focusing resources on on-site inspection activities at two sites only: At forests to be protected and at wood-processing plants.
Outside these, highway checkpoints should be removed from the model.
The authors suggested that policymakers should also “do away with registration, inventory and permit requirements” for harvest and transport of trees as these do more harm than good by increasing rent extraction.
They also recommended that policymakers look into expanding available commercial trees and shifting responsibility of regulation from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the Department of Trade and Industry where the economic facets will be better understood.
Paqueo and Israel likewise underscored a coalition built on informed ideas and enlightened self-interest to promote the pursuit of a successful and sustainable development
They further encouraged stakeholders from all sectors to develop a comprehensive approach that will safeguard their sources of livelihood from depletion aside from promoting ecological conservation.
Total log ban led to corruption — study
