Town councilor, brgy chief face raps for “hot lumber”

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — The  Leyte Provincial Prosecutions Office in this city  has recommended for the filing of a criminal case, without bail, against a councilor of Burauen town, his brother and a village chief for allegedly transporting at least 1,000-board feet of illegally cut lawaan lumber, worth P70,000.

The respondents are Councilor Kokoy Alpino, his brother Roy and Barangay Chairman Cesar Corneco of Anunang, also of Burauen, according to Manuel Ferreras, provincial environment and natural resources officer.

Ferreras told The Freeman in an exclusive interview that a truck, allegedly owned by the councilor and loaded with the freshly cut lumber, was confiscated in a joint operation of the CENRO and the Leyte Police on Saturday morning.

“Based on our investigation, the transport of the lumber was illegal for lack of utilization permit, which meant the items were illegally cut, and carried no permit to transport, said the environment official.

The brother of the councilor was the driver of the truck, while the village chief was on board when the authorities apprehended the shipment at the national highway along Barangay Anunang.

Meanwhile, four men were detained after CENRO personnel confiscated from them 500-bd. ft. of illegally cut lumber the other day at La Paz town in Leyte.

Ferreras however refused to divulge their names saying an investigation was still going on about the incident, along with other operations in the campaign against illegal logging in Burauen and nearby towns.

DENR-8 Regional Executive Director Leonardo Sibbaluca earlier admitted Burauen and nearby towns have been the hotspots of illegal cutting of trees in Leyte. —Miriam Garcia Desacada (FREEMAN)