Arrest illegal loggers in El Nido — Legarda

Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda urged forest rangers yesterday to arrest and charge illegal loggers operating inside El Nido in Palawan before they could further damage the protected ecological sanctuary.

"It’s not for the rangers to boast of the many board feet of illegally cut timber that they have confiscated in El Nido, particularly on the island of Matinloc. Arrests should be made to set an example to loggers who have no respect for nature and our laws," she said in a statement.

Legarda expressed dismay over a report of the environmental group World Wide Fund (WWF) that El Nido, a protected and reserved area that is also a top tourist destination, is being ravaged by illegal loggers.

Located on the northernmost tip of Palawan, El Nido is famous worldwide for its powdery white sand beaches, tropical rainforests teeming with wildlife and rare flora, historical caves, lagoons, limestone cliffs and dive sites.

"The law prohibits logging and the harvesting of timber products in a protected area. Yet, the WWF had inventoried at least 35 trees that had been chopped down and being processed into lumber during their last visit there," Legarda said.

Rangers of the Protected Area Office (PAO) in El Nido had confirmed that illegal logging is going on. "Now, what we want to know is what they are doing to stop this," she said.

Legarda said it would be disastrous for the environment and for El Nido’s 27,000 residents if illegal logging continues.