Around 30 armed men have been encamped in the vicinity of Masungi Georeserve in Tanay, Rizal since September 3, according to the conservation foundation.
In a post on Facebook, photos showed vehicles parked along Marikina-Infanta Highway. Masungi Georeserve said the armed men were from Sinagtala Security Agency.
Calling the encampment an ‘invasion,’ the georeserve said in a statement that the men “reportedly plan to take over huge tracts of land in the protected area and are selling them to third-parties.”
Purchasing and selling portions of land in protected areas is considered a crime under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area Systems Act (Enipas).
A person claiming to be a retired military official is with the group of security men, saying he owns land but failed to show a title.
Two weeks since they encamped, the armed men are still allowed to squat in the area.
Masungi managing trustee Ann Dumaliang told Rappler that instructions from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office is to prevent any violence, but resists from evicting the men.
Dumaliang mentioned how disappointing this is considering that under the Enipas, “illegal occupation is a crime.”
Rappler messaged Tanay Municipal Police Station on Monday for their statement but was yet to receive a response as of writing. In a recent update from the conservation site, regional police confiscated the illegal firearms carried by the security men