Field officers of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are now required to first appear before a notary public attorney to swear on the correctness of their accomplishment reports before submitting them to the DENR’s head office in Quezon City.
This after DENR Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje has ordered the notarization of all reports submitted by his 16 DENR regional executive directors and other DENR field officers playing key roles in the implementation of the National Greening Program (NGP) in an apparent move to remove doubts on the veracity of NGP reports submitted to his office.

“The intention is also to raise the agency’s competence in providing accurate reports to our people and the President,” explained Paje, adding that the reports will in turn be submitted to the Commission on Audit (COA) for validation.

It will be recalled that Paje has sought the help of COA for the audit of some 1.5 billion tree seedlings that would be produced and planted in 1.5 million hectares under the NGP between 2011 up to 2016.

Paje described the requirement as a “necessary measure” to heighten transparency and accountability, as he stressed that his order applies to all DENR’s regional directors, heads of line bureaus, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officers (PENROs), and Community Environment and Natural Resources Officers (CENROs).

“I expect concerned DENR officials to be more truthful and diligent in the preparation of their reports,” Paje stressed.