Four persons have been arrested for operating a campsite inside a protected forest reserve in Tanay, Rizal despite the issuance of a cease and desist order by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said.
The NBI identified those arrested as Melisa Bendanillo Jose, Ana Marie D. Olitoquit, Leandro A. Catiang, and Ronwell Novilla.
It said that Jose, Catiang, and Novilla were charged with violation of Section 20 (o) of Republic Act (RA) No. 7586, the National Integrated Protected Area System Act of 1999.
Olitiquit and a still at-large respondent, Meldred Canoy Bendanillo, were charged with violations of Section 20 (o) and (g) of RA 7586, it also said.
The four suspects were arrested last July 17 inside the Kaliwa River Forest Reserve (KRFR) in Tanay, Rizal by operatives of the NBI Rizal District Office (NBI-RIZDO).
The NBI noted that the KRFR is “an area declared as protected by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 573 series of 1969.”
It said the operation was conducted at the request of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office of Tanay (MENRO-Tanay) and Department of Environment and Natural Resource – Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office – Rizal (DENR-PENRO – Rizal).
It also said the “Treasure Mountain and/or Marahuyo Eco Park and/or Marahuyo Campsite and/or TM Marahuyo (Treasure Mountain) is the establishment violating the environmental laws in the area.”
“Verification made with the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) revealed that no clearance was given to Treasure Mountain for constructing, erecting or maintaining any kind of structure, fence or enclosure, conducting any business enterprise within the said protected area,” the NBI said.
“In addition, a Cease and Desist Order (CDO) was issued on Nov. 6, 2020, by the DENR against the subject establishment,” it added.