Illegal lumber seized in Talisay

CEBU, Philippines - A joint team of foresters, forest rangers, and maritime police officers seized last August 6 nearly 7,000 board feet of lumber of the dipterocarp species in sitio Salvador, Tangke, Talisay City for violating Section 77 of Presidential Decree 705, as amended by Executive Order 277 and as renumbered by Republic Act 7161 and Executive Order 23.

The contraband’s estimated value was placed at P280,000.

Isabelo R. Montejo, regional executive director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7, said transporting forest products with original documents for monitoring and controlling purposes is important.

The shipment arrived in Talisay on board a motorized boat from Surigao del Sur.

The confiscated forest products are now at the DENR-Community Environment and Natural Resources Office Cebu City at Pier 3 area for safekeeping while the motorized boat is in the custody of the Maritime police at pier 8.

Montejo in a statement said no one was arrested.

He said men who were unloading the lumber jumped off the boat when the police arrived.

The members of the team that seized the lumber included foresters Raul Pasoc, Nolito Lapinig, Lucio Cañete Jr, and forest rangers Lucito Sardañas and Danilo Orbosido.