Hot lumber seized in Isabela

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – Undocumented lumber totaling about 8,000 board feet was confiscated by authorities along the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountain in Isabela early this week, according to reports.

The Isabela environmental protection task force said the illegally sawn common hardwood lumber was found abandoned in Barangay Ilingan in Benito Soliven town and in Barangay Tappa, San Mariano town last Monday.

The provincial government-led task force, also composed of the police and military, however, failed to arrest anyone behind the hot lumber, which is now impounded at the capitol gymnasium.

Recently, illegal sawn lumber totaling more than 6,000 board feet was also discovered in a rice field in Barangay Buyasan in San Mariano town, where several illegal logs have been confiscated since the 1970s.

Amethyst Costales, the task force’s vice chair, said the provincial government will continue its drive against illegal logging to preserve and protect Isabela’s remaining forest resources.

Gov. Faustino Dy III formed the task force in support of President Aquino’s executive order calling for a moratorium on logging activities in the country.