CEBU, Philippines - Almost 3,000 board feet of hardwood from Mindanao was seized by a team of foresters and policemen in Naga City last Friday.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 executive director Dr. Isabelo Montejo said the 203 pieces of Yakal lumber with a total volume of 2,913 board feet came from Rizal Socorro, Surigao del Sur. The shipment is estimated to be worth P262,170.
Montejo said the shipper, a certain Ruben Saneco, will be subjected to administrative adjudication to determine his criminal liability under the forestry laws.
Although Montejo has already said the shipment has violated section 77 of Presidential Decree 705 as amended by Executive Order 277 and as renumbered by Republic Act 7161 and Executive Order 23.
He explained that the movement of logs, lumber, plywood, veneer, non-timber forest products and wood-based or non-wood based products or commodities shall be covered with appropriate and original copy of certificates of origin. The requirement of providing transport documents covering forest commodities is very important to determine the source as well as provide control mechanism against the unauthorized movement and disposition of forest products.
The shipment arrived in Poblacion, Naga City on July 12 via a chartered boat. The joint operatives of the DENR and the police failed to arrest anyone as well as the boat used in transporting the lumber because it was already unloaded when the team arrived.
The confiscated forest products are now at the DENR-CENRO Cebu City for safekeeping.
The members of the team responsible in the confiscation of the lumber are foresters Raul Pasoc, Nolito Lapinig, Lucio Cañete Jr, and police officers Remberto Empeynado, Reginald Galangan, Niel Villaceran, and Renier Noel.
“The DENR is vigorously campaigning against environmental law violators as environmental law enforcement is one of the priority thrusts of DENR Secretary Ramon JP Paje,” Montejo said. — (FREEMAN)