Philippines: Forest guards receive equipment safeguarding their ancestral domains

We are posting this updates shared by Casandra Emata of Xavier Science Foundation, Inc. (XSF).

MILALITTRA (left) and PTTA (right) forest guards receiving their equipment and WEO IDs.
Photo by XSF.

XSF, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, Inc. (PTFCF) turned over equipment and paraphernalia for more than 100 Bantay Lasang (forest guards) of the Portulin Talaandig Tribal Association (PTTA) and Miarayon-Lapok-Lirongan-Tinaytayan-Talaandig Tribal Association (MILALITTRA) on 8 and 10 August.

The ceremony is part of the activities of XSF’s project, Enhancement of Community Capacity for Sustainable Ecological Protection and Economic Development (EcoSEED), funded by PTFCF. PTTA and MILALITTRA are XSF’s EcoSEED community partners.

The event is also done following the training for the EcoSEED tribal partners conducted in June on building their capacities as wildlife enforcement officers (WEO). Tribes observed a ritual to bless the equipment, such as radios, cameras, boots and raincoats. DENR also distributed IDs to recognize PTTA and MILALITTRA forest guards as full-fledged WEOs.

The tribes recognize the importance of the training and the provision of equipment in effective safeguarding of the forests of Mt. Kalatungan Range in Bukidnon where their ancestral domains are situated.