REBIRTH The provincial government of Pangasinan is reforesting and converting a 20-hectare mountain area in Bugallon town into an eco-park following years of deforestation caused by illegal logging. —Photos by Ray Zambrano BUGALLON, PANGASINAN, Philippines — As retired Police Col. Paterno Orduna gazed over the rugged landscape of the mountain ranges spanning the borders of Zambales and Pangasinan provinces, a wave of nostalgia hit him.
The once-dense forests that provided him refuge as a student activist during the early 1970s were now a shadow of their former glory. “These mountains used to be thickly forested with ancient native trees with hefty trunks,” reminisced the 75-year-old Orduna, his voice giving a hint of sorrow. Back in the day, those towering trees provided not just physical cover but a sense of safety during his time as an organizer for the Kabataang Makabayan and when he was forced to go underground due to his links to the communist movement.
READ: Reforestation drive gets record pledges But now, as he stood on a clearing in this western Pangasinan town, the changes were stark: the lush forests had given way to a sparse growth of second-generation, mostly exotic trees, with thick underbrush filling the gaps. “Inubos ng loggers ang mga puno (Loggers wiped out the trees),” Orduna lamented during a recent interview with the Inquirer, still shocked by the transformation he witnessed in recent years. The vibrant green canopy of his youth had faded, leav.