Caraga forester guarding seized logs shot dead

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines  – Suspected illegal loggers shot dead a member of Task Force Pagbabago who was guarding confiscated logs in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur last Thursday, authorities said.

Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ task force which goes after illegal loggers and illegal miners, said forester Jacinto Branas, 56, was guarding seized logs in a village outside Bislig City when armed men suspected to be owners of the contraband gunned him down.

Miranda recalled that members of the task force were fired at during an operation in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur.

“They wanted to scare us but my men are not scared of them. For my part, it was already a passion, an advocacy to protect the environment. I am not afraid to die. What we only wanted is to stop the cutting of trees in the forests of Caraga that are now denuded,” Miranda said.

He also recounted how operators of tug boats towing seized illegally cut logs along the Agusan River were also fired at. “Luckily no one got hit,” he said.