WE never forget the front page banner of Philippine Daily Inquirer in its February 4, 2005 issue, “Govs: Miriam must pay.” We in Sorsogon felt amused on the temerity of then Sorsogon Gov. Raul R. Lee to announce that he would lead other governors in filing charges against Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago for accusing them of being coddlers of illegal loggers.

        Threatened to be charged before the Senate ethics committee for denouncing illegal loggers and protecting the environment was indeed not very amusing to Sen. Santiago.

        If Mr. Lee was not a coddler/protector of illegal logging in our province, he should have taken the lady senator’s privilege speech with a grain of salt. Instead of howling like a mad dog, the governor should have exerted more effort and worked harder against the illegal loggers. Better yet, he should have made the same stance against other vices, such as the illegal numbers game called jueteng.

        Even with his wife Sally, the incumbent governor, illegal logging has only become rampant in all towns surrounding Bulusan Volcano (once considered the Switzerland of the Orient), Mount Bintakan and the mountain ranges of Castilla, and Bacon, Sorsogon. Most rampant are those in Juban, Casiguran, Irosin, Bulusan, Gubat and Barcelona.

        Interestingly, if you had chance to visit the narra-clad walls of the governor’s house in Sorsogon City, you will readily see if the governor is really pro or against illegal logging.

        In 1992, while we were patrolling in the company of my grandfather, Gov. Juan G. Frivaldo, we caught one mayor, several barangay captains and barangay kagawads cutting centuries-old trees in the vicinity of Bulusan Lake. We felt the same harassment and threats by the loggers and their coddlers but we chose to fight them with determination.

         We urge Sen. Defensor so continue the fight against illegal loggers as we carry on the fight right here in our own territories. We dare our local leaders to do the same.



        VLADIMIR RAMON FRIVALDO

        Sorsogon




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