Over 200 members of the city’s Bantay Bukid renewed their oath to protect the environment from unscrupulous people.
City Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) Engineer Marivic Reyes said that the Bantay Bukid members will serve as forest rangers and will look after the hinterlands of the city, including river sources, to ensure that the environment will be preserved.
“As far as local activities like littering and small destruction of our environment, those will all be handled by our office, but if it will involve big things like illegal cutting, it will be referred to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR),” Reyes said. “Our aim really is to preserve the environment and to ensure that it will be seen by the next generation. Everything that is covered under the jurisdiction of the city is our mandate.”
She added that the deployment of the Bantay Bukid is “a big help to us since they will serve as our eyes on the ground.”
Reyes explained that the forest rangers will immediately report to the police once they witnessed or knew someone who violated the law or have caused harm to the environment.
Environment is one of the 10 priority agenda of Mayor Sara Duterte that aims on its preservation and protection from harm. CIO
