P.2-M reward offered in Cagayan forester's slay

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya ,Philippines  – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has set aside P250,000 as reward for whoever could give information leading to the arrest of the killer of a female forester in Cagayan.

Benjamin Tumaliuan, DENR regional executive director, said they decided to offer the cash reward, sourced from their regional office representation and travel allowances, to give justice to their colleague Melania Dirain, who was slain last Feb. 7.

Dirain, 42, a forest management specialist, was shot dead by a lone gunman right inside the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in Sanchez Mira town. 

Dirain, a widow, sustained several gunshot wounds from a .45-caliber pistol.

Authorities said Dirain’s killing could be job-related and those behind it could be linked to illegal logging activities in Cagayan. 

“We came up with (the reward) to somehow help authorities in their investigation gather sufficient information and give justice to our martyred colleague,” Tumaliuan said.

Aside from offering the cash reward, Dirain’s colleagues are also giving scholarships to her children.  

Law enforcement agencies led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group still have no leads on Dirain’s assailant, who was caught by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera. His face, however, was not easily identifiable as his head was partly covered by a scarf.

The gunman was believed to be the same man caught on the CCTV seemingly wary and walking back and forth inside the CENRO building hours before the killing.

“So far, the CIDG has taken the CCTV footage to Manila for visual enhancement. We also have reproduced copies of the image of the gunman and posted it in all DENR offices in (Cagayan Valley) and neighboring regions,” Tumaliuan said.

Earlier, police said Dirain’s killing could have something to do with her new task, which included monitoring illegally acquired lumber and other forest products.

Authorities said the perpetrators could have been involved in the shipment of some 20,000 board feet of illegal logs from Cagayan, which was intercepted in Ilocos recently.

Dirain reportedly had a hand in the seizure of the undocumented forest products.