RP to fight forest fires

RP to fight forest fires

MANILA (Xinhua): The Philippines government ordered local government units on Sunday to beef up their forest fire fighting capabilities amid the resurgence of forest fires in neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, Antonio Cerilles, secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said that the department's fire-fighting teams have been on 24- hour alert and are constantly monitoring the possible occurrence of forest fires nationwide.

He said that the government issued the order "following the recurrence of forest fires in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia.

Cerilles said he has directed the department's regional directors to mobilize all 6,000 foresters and forest rangers nationwide to man all existing fire lookout stations and keep in close contact with local governments for forest-fire control.