Manila Times Online, December 7, 2004

Sen. Angara Calls for the Employment of Tribesmen against Illegal Loggers

Senator Edgardo Angara called for the employment of tribesmen as guardians of the forests.

The idea was presented by the senator from Aurora alongside his call for the review of the industrial plantation system, and the use of imported wood for wood products to protect the country's remaining forests.

According to Sen. Angara, the members of cultural communities can be charged as forest rangers since they have natural inclinations to preserve and protect their forests on which they depend on as their main source of sustenance and livelihood.

"They are our natural forest rangers," he said. "We should train them and provide them logistics for more effective protection of our forest resources."