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Masungi conservationist says presence of armed guards, fencing off georeserve illegal

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Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/tvpatrol/10/19/fences.jpg"/><figcaption>The fences were at least 15 meters long, guarded by men &quot;carrying long, high-powered weapons.&quot; The affected site covers an estimated 1,000 hectares of the restoration project in Rizal, Masungi Georeserve&#x27;s Billie Dumaliang said. <em>Masungi Georeserve</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATE</strong>) — A person who works for Masungi Georeserve in Rizal province on Saturday said the fences recently put up by armed men in the area were illegal. </p><p>Billie Dumaliang, a trustee and designated advocacy officer at the eco-tourism site, said the area is protected by law and therefore cannot be anyone’s private property.</p><p>The barriers, set up in a portion of the georeserve’s restoration project, blocked authorized Masungi personnel from accessing about 1,000 hectares of land, Dumaliang added. </p><p>“We’ve been monitoring [the situation] very closely in the past few months because of increased illegal activities,” she told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>“We’ve increased the protection measures to make sure illegal activities are stopped . . . Parang intimidation iyon sa amin ng kung ano’ng kaya nilang gawin. It’s a protected area, this forest so no one can claim this as private property.”</p><p>(It was like a form of intimidation. They wanted to show us what they are capable of.)</p><p>According to Dumaliang, the guards could not show a land title, a permit or a document authorizing them to install the fences.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">LOOK: A portion of Masungi Georeserve&#x27;s restoration proj. was fenced by at least 5 armed men working for an alleged renewable energy company Friday, blocking the conservation area&#x27;s authorized personnel from accessing the site, a site officer told <a href="https://twitter.com/ABSCBNNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ABSCBNNews</a>. <a href="https://t.co/jMIr5OGhYO">pic.twitter.com/jMIr5OGhYO</a></p>— Job Manahan (@jobmanahan) <a href="https://twitter.com/jobmanahan/status/1319937455781363719?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2020</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>In a video Dumaliang shared to ABS-CBN News, the men said they worked purportedly for a renewable energy company. </p><p>As of posting time, ABS-CBN News was verifying who ordered the men to carry out the task.</p><p>“Pumunta kami doon to clean... [for] reforestation and planting tapos biglang, ‘Ano ito, sino kayo? Ano ginagawa niyo dito?’ ” Dumaliang said.</p><p>(We were there to clean, do reforestation and planting, and all of a sudden, ‘What is this, who are you, what are you doing here?’)</p><p>“Because we’re managers of the areas, we asked them to show documents . . . They could not show any title. </p><p>“That raises a lot of questions on ano iyong ginagawa nila doon sa area.”</p><p>On Facebook Friday, Dumaliang and her group aired a similar complaint, saying a wildlife sanctuary cannot be owned by a private entity.</p><p>“The site is part the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (Proc. 296) which can NEVER be any person or any company&#x27;s private property, as it is a protected area and wildlife sanctuary. It has been protected by various laws since 1904 as a critical watershed,” a statement posted on the Masungi Facebook account said.</p><p>Masungi is an award-winning conservation project that has become a popular eco-tourism site in Baras town, Rizal. Alongside eco-tourism efforts, the group behind it continues to reforest areas made barren by illegal logging and quarrying.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/06/16/20/look-flower-that-towers-over-8-feet-spotted-in-masungi-georeserve">LOOK: Flower that towers over 8 feet spotted in Masungi Georeserve</a></li></ul><p>This was the second time this year that fences were put up at Masungi. </p><p>In late February, the conservation site reported that a portion of its reforestation area was blocked by a quarry company. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/27/20/look-quarry-operations-in-rizal-affect-reforestation-efforts-of-conservation-park">LOOK: Quarry operations in Rizal affect reforestation efforts of conservation park</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/03/03/20/pag-operate-ng-mining-companies-sa-masungi-geopark-pinaiimbestigahan">Pag-operate ng mining companies sa Masungi geopark pinaiimbestigahan</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rsgsNV6Ly_w?enablejsapi=1"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Billie Dumaliang, a trustee and designated advocacy officer at the eco-tourism site, said the area is protected by law and therefore cannot be anyone’s private property.</p>

Billie Dumaliang, a trustee and designated advocacy officer at the eco-tourism site, said the area is protected by law and therefore cannot be anyone’s private property.

Masungi conservationist says presence of armed guards, fencing off georeserve illegal

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Masungi conservationist says presence of armed guards, fencing off georeserve illegal

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 24, 2020 11:39 PM PHT

|

Updated Oct 25, 2020 08:00 AM PHT

Read More:

Masungi Georeserve

Masungi Georeserve fencing

Masungi restoration project

Rizal

Philippines news

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Masungi

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