Sawmill operators and lumber dealers in Davao Province have asked Environment Secretary Elisea Gozun to lift her order banning the cutting of trees. The Philippine Wood Producers Association (PWPA) chaired by businessman Joel Yamyamin claimed that the stop in the issuance of Resource Use Permits (RUPs) for the cutting of trees has greatly affected them, the banana industry and the Philippine economy. PWPA, an association of mini-sawmill operators and lumber dealers, is the main supplier of pallets to big banana firms in the region. A pallet is a portable wooden platform for handling, storing, and moving materials and packages. Because bananas can not be exported without the pallets, Gozun's order affects the Philippine economy due to the reduction of dollar earnings, he said. DENR Regional Executive Director Jeremias Dolino said, however, that there is a need to suspend the issuance of RUP due to abuses. "There's too much abuse in issuing RUPs. The areas covered by RUPs are very wide. Many (trees) had been cut but nothing was planted," Dolino said. He said at least 30 to 50 hectares were covered by the issued RUPs. Dolino cited the need to re-study the issuance of RUPs and the wide areas they cover. He said RUPs were designed to be issued only to community groups through a Community-based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA) so that the community itself will guard their forests. However, he lamented that some community-based associations sub-contracted their RUPs to some people with a lot of money. Dolino said he expects Gozun to immediately look into the problem. Asia Pulse