Forest ranger wounded in attack

ZAMBOANGA CITY - A forest ranger was seriously wounded after three illegal loggers attacked him with a bolo at a mangrove forest in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, police said on Wednesday.

Police said the 42-year old Edison Faustino Delos Reyes was patrolling the mangrove forest when he chanced upon the men illegally cutting trees at the reservation area. The trio quickly ganged up on Delos Reyes and hacked him in the head before escaping. The attack occurred before dusk Monday in Simariki Island which is part of Talon-Talon village.

One of the attackers had been identified as Che Ganih and is now being hunted by the police, including his cohorts.

"Investigation revealed that prior to the incident, the victim was conducting roving patrol at mangrove area as part of his duty as OCENR (Office of the City Environment and Natural Resources) employee, he caught the suspects in the act of cutting and stealing mangrove trees. Upon sensing the presence of the victim, the suspects allegedly mauled and hacked the victim with still unknown weapon. As a result, the victim sustained hack wounds on his head and the assailants fled towards the inner portion of Simariki Island," said Maj. Shellamie Chang, a regional police spokeswoman.

Simariki Island is mostly surrounded by mangroves and sandbars, and a popular destination of picnickers because of its pristine beaches, cottages and fresh seafood. The island is also a bird sanctuary. 

Last year, Mayor Maria Isabelle Salazar ordered an investigation into the alleged exploitation of natives, including the Bajaus and Sama Bangingi, and the encroachment on their ancestral domain by unscrupulous individuals. She also called on the Department of Justice and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to look into it after receiving reports that some people even managed to acquire land tiles from the indigenous people.

She said the lands under ancestral domains are protected by the provisions of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, which recognizes IPs and their communities’ ownership over their ancestral domains and lands, to include sacred areas, culturally and historically significant sites, forests, water sources, and seas. (Zamboanga Post)