Cops seize "hot" lumber, arrests three men

Three men were arrested and a jeepload of lumber, estimated to be worth P40,000, was intercepted and confiscated in barangay San Roque, Talisay City early yesterday morning for lack of permit to transport.

The haul, believed to be a part of the "hot lumber" seized in Liloan town last October 24, was on its way to Cebu City from somewhere in Talisay City.

At past 5 a.m., a team of the Provincial Special Operations Group, led by C/Insp. Juanito Enguera, intercepted the shipment and arrested the driver of the jeep, Raul Perino, the conductor Bryan Llabon, and the alleged shipment guide Roger Abapo.

Perino told the police that he and Llabon were sleeping near the South Reclamation Project when a man, who introduced himself as Noel Abay, woke them up and hired them to deliver the lumber to Laray, Inayawan in Cebu City for P800.

Perino said he did not know who would receive the shipment, but Abay put in Abapo to serve as their guide.

Abapo, however, was uncooperative keeping mum to the police over the details of the illegal shipment, including the place in Talisay City where the lumber was kept before being transported to Cebu City.

There is a warehouse somewhere in Talisay that the lumber owner has possibly rented to store initially these lumber, which are believed to have come from Surigao del Sur, said Enguera.

Enguera vowed to investigate deeper into the case to determine who could be behind the transportation of "hot" lumber in Cebu. The arrested men have with them a photocopy of the permit to cut lumber, which was also shown during the confiscation of lumber in Liloan.

Enguera said the latest shipment came shortly after his office got a tip that more lumber would be delivered in time for the "Kalag-kalag" holidays.

There were raw reports that a shipment of lumber was successfully delivered to Cebu City, at about 11 p.m. Thursday, without the police noticing it.

Enguera said these hauls of lumber might have come from the same entity- the heirs of Maria Alimboyong based in barangay Kalatnga San Miguel, Surigao-that was implicated, including two policemen, in the confiscated haul of lumber in Liloan.

"Kauban ra ni sa Liloan (This is part of the Liloan haul). Ang atong information nga dunay mga kahoy ipayuhot taymingon nila sa Kalag-kalag kay walay polis (Our information said that lumber would be slipped through during All Souls' Day because there are no policemen). Wala lang ta kahibaw asa dapit sa Talisay maong didto na lang ta nagsige og atang sa Talisay (We just don't know where in Talisay, so we posted ourselves in this place)," Enguera told reporters.

Perino, Llabon and Abapo would be charged with illegal transport in violation of the Forestry Act. - Ryan P. Borinaga