DENR files illegal logging case vs Tagum truck owners, drivers

TAGUM CITY – The Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) here filed cases against the truck owners, drivers and helpers of he 10 cargo trucks caught loaded with undocumented logs along the national highway of Asuncion, Davao del Norte.

CENRO Amado Cenizan of Tagum City filed three (3) criminal cases at the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against 13 persons.

A total of 896 logs with a volume of 146 cubic meters of assorted tree species with an estimated market value of P200,000 were apprehended last April 15, 2005 by the Provincial Task Force on Illegal Logging of Davao del Norte headed by Governor Gelacio P. Gementiza together with the 60th Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army.

Section 77 of PD 705, as amended, provides that any person who shall cut, gather, collect or remove timber or any forest products from any forest land, or timber from alienable and disposable public lands, or from private lands, without authority under a license agreement, lease or permit, shall be guilty of qualified theft.

According to Ervien Mendoza of DENR Region XI for the past two years, the Region has filed a total of 54 cases against forest violators. With the vigilance and assistance of various sectors of society such as the LGUs, military and police, NGOs, religious groups, courts and concerned citizens, the fight against illegal forest activities in Region XI is gaining headway.