BAGUIO CITY — The Cordillera office here of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the unabated issuance of tax declarations by local government units in the different parts of the region is contributing to the rapid deterioration of the watersheds and forests.

Aside from contending with national laws in its efforts to preserve and protect the watersheds and forests, the DENR is also having a hard time dealing with individuals who have encroached on protected areas.

It likewise found out that due to conflicting laws, tax declarations covering protected areas and national parks are being issued.

Primitivo C. Galinato Jr., Cordillera DENR director, said the unabated issuance of tax declarations by some local officials is hampering the agency’s efforts to effectively performing its mandate of protecting and preserving the watersheds in region.

Benguet is one of the local government units with a provincial ordinance allowing the issuance of tax declarations covering forested areas. This has resulted in the devastation of large portions of the Mount Data and Mount Pulag National Parks as big areas have been converted into vegetable farms.

However, Presidential Decree (PD) 705 or the Forestry Code of the Philippines penalizes elected or appointed officials who issue tax declarations on properties without a certification that the area is an alienable and disposable land.

At the same time, Galinato noted a loophole in the ancestral domain policy that recognizes the titling of lands in the names of ancestral land claimants.

The regional DENR chief recommended the reconciliation of laws relative to land use to avoid problems on the implementation of these laws.