1991 local gov’t. code must be amended for PENRO’s appointment

By Jason de Asis

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, March 1, 2011-Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr., who chair the Senate committee on local government yesterday said that there is a need to amend provisions of the 1991 Local Government Code by mandatory appointment of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The Senator said that the DENR officers in the province are the representatives of the national agency and bring down to the provincial level the programs and policies of the DENR where the PENRO will take those programs and policies and apply them in their assigned provinces.

Sen. Bongbong explained that each PENRO is specific to its respective province since the needs and concerns of every province are slightly or totally different from one another. In contrast, the national policies and programs expressed through the DENR are constant throughout the whole country.

He added that the DENR’s function is to formulate and implement national programs and policies while PENRO would translate it into local projects and strategies that would fit into the varying needs and situations of each community, saying that they need one another, and he thinks that is the way it should be handled.

Referred to the committee on local government, by making the appointment of PENRO mandatory instead of optional Senate Bill introduced by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, seeks to amend Section 463, Chapter 2, Title Four, Book III of Republic Act No. 7160.

The PENRO should be responsible for ensuring that forest lands in every province are protected from wanton and illegal cutting of logs, Senate Bill 2274 directed the government to protect and preserve precious forest reserves to avoid destructive flooding in the future. (Jason de Asis)