Bantay Bukid Volunteers Boost Davao City Watershed

DAVAO CITY — The Bantay Bukid and Bantay Tubig Volunteers (BBTV) significantly expanded their operational footprint in 2025, conducting hundreds of environmental protection activities and intercepting multiple violations within Davao City’s critical watersheds. Supported by the City Government through the Public Safety and Security Office (PSSO), the community-based force remains the primary guardian of the region’s hinterlands and river systems.

Operational Impact and Enforcement

During the 2025 Watershed Stakeholder Summit held on November 27, retired MSgt. Reynante B. Vallejo, the PSSO Assistant Operations Officer, confirmed that the volunteer force reported 15 specific incidents involving violations of environmental laws. These infractions included illegal tree cutting, unauthorized construction, water pollution, treasure hunting, and illegal entry into protected zones.

The volunteers, who serve as forest rangers, completed 293 environmental activities throughout the year. These operations focused on nursery establishment, tree growing, and the clearing of invasive weeds to support forest regeneration. additionally, the group executed 196 watershed protection initiatives, which included rigorous cleanup drives and “brand audits”—a systematic documentation of plastic waste to identify corporate contributors to pollution in the uplands.

Current data places the total number of active Bantay Bukid Volunteers at 309. They are strategically engaged across six districts to ensure a robust presence in ancestral domains and forested areas:

• Baguio: 140 volunteers
• Marilog: 54 volunteers
• Paquibato: 39 volunteers
• Toril: 31 volunteers
• Calinan: 28 volunteers
• Tugbok: 17 volunteers

Strengthening Biodiversity and Legal Frameworks

Biodiversity conservation remained a central pillar of the BBTV’s 2025 mission. The teams conducted 242 monitoring activities, including documenting bird sightings, tracking key wildlife species, and dismantling animal traps set by poachers. These efforts are often conducted in coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region XI (DENR-XI). Volunteers, many of whom are members of indigenous communities, leverage their intimate knowledge of the terrain to secure the Mt. Apo Natural Park and surrounding areas sunstar.com.ph.

To support these hazardous duties, the local government provides incentives. As of August 2025, volunteers receive a monthly allowance of approximately ₱3,500 for 10 patrol days, a measure intended to acknowledge their vital role in complementing official park rangers sunstar.com.ph.

The legal backing for these volunteers was further solidified earlier in the year. In January 2025, the 20th City Council passed the “Panigan-Tamugan Sub-Watershed Ordinance of 2025,” declaring the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed and its territorial boundaries a protected area. This legislation prohibits activities such as land conversion, aerial spraying, and open burning, directly empowering the monitoring work performed by the Bantay Bukid mindanaotimes.com.ph.

Training and Future Plans

Looking ahead to 2026, the PSSO announced an expansion of capacity-building initiatives. The program will introduce orientations focused on Section 77 of Presidential Decree 705 (The Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines) and provide paralegal training on environmental legal frameworks.

This training aims to professionalize the volunteer force further, ensuring that evidence collection and enforcement actions stand up to legal scrutiny. Authorities are also exploring the possibility of deputizing qualified volunteers as Wildlife Enforcement Officers (WEO) to grant them broader enforcement powers in the future sunstar.com.ph.