‘Andres Bonifacio’ faces illegal logging raps

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan — A namesake of hero Andres Bonifacio is facing charges here for allegedly concealing illegally-cut lumber, including high-grade ones, inside his own residence.

Andres O. Bonifacio, director of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) for Cagayan Valley, is in danger of losing his job if found guilty of the charges, which environment officials would be filing against him soon for violating Presidential Decree 705, otherwise known as the Anti-Illegal Logging Law.

Nerie Carpio, regional public affairs officer of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), yesterday said that Bonifacio’s predicament came after joint police’s mobile group and DENR operatives discovered more than 3,000 board feet of gmelina and narra flitches right inside his residential compound in Pamplona town here last week.

Carpio said that an administrative hearing is already scheduled for next week to establish Bonifacio’s liabilities before criminal charges are formally lodged against him before the court.

"The hearing next week is just a formality as there was already semblance of probable cause (to warrant the filing of a case) against him," Carpio said.

DENR officials said the confiscated forest products inside Bonifacio’s compound have no documents showing that they were legally cut or legally acquired.

Further investigations showed that the illegally-cut 2,499 board-foot of gmelina and 640 board-foot of high-grade narra were taken from the DENR-protected reforestation area in Barangay Guiddam in northern Abulug town here.

Earlier, Clarence Baguilat, DENR director for Cagayan Valley, said that there would be no exemption in their implementation of the law, especially when it comes to preserving and protecting the environment.