BAGUIO CITY – The Philippine National Police (PNP) Police Cordillera Regional Office (PRO-COR), in its drive against Illegal Logging, confiscated some 1,288.66 board feet of assorted illegally harvested lumber in two days.
The Cordillera police reported that, in various mountainous areas of Benguet Province, logs and flitches were found abandoned, recovered and hauled in by an anti-illegal logging operation conducted on June 30, 2017.
A total of 136 pieces of assorted cuts of lumber; 34 pieces of pine tree slabs and three pieces of round pine logs with a total volume of 965.66 board feet worth Php29,573.00 were recovered and taken in by the operatives.
Over in the province of Apayao, 20 pieces of abandoned dipterocarp flitches comprising 323 board feet worth Php5,501.00 were hauled in Sitio Bayugao, Brgy. Turod, Luna, Apayao in the afternoon of the same day.
And in the province of Kalinga, 60 pieces of assorted sawn logs were likewise found abandoned inside a makeshift tent along the national road in Sitio Sagideng, Barangay Taga, Pinukpuk, Kalinga on July 1, 2017.
The operating troops scoured the area to locate possible illegal loggers and/or the owners but the search turned out negative, while all the recovered wood products have been placed under the custody of the concerned operating units for proper documentation prior to turnover to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Cordillera and the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).
“The creation of the anti-illegal logging task forces in all the provinces of he Cordillera is not only a big boost to our regional anti-illegal logging efforts, but it is also a strategic move on the part of our partner agencies to further protect the remaining forest reserves,” stated Pro-Cor officials.
The Police body added that the police have been conducting regular anti-illegal logging operations and manning checkpoints in the region as part of its commitment to protect the environment.
