ILLEGAL LOGGING. Law enforcers confiscate over 13,000 board feet of illegal logs in an operation in General Tinio, Nueva Ecija on Monday (July 11, 2022). The over PHP800,000 worth of contraband were brought to the municipal compound of General Tinio and the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office for temporary custody and safekeeping. (Photo courtesy of DENR Region 3)

 

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Over 13,000 board feet of illegal logs were seized in General Tinio, Nueva Ecija on Monday, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office here said on Tuesday.

 

The confiscation was the result of the crackdown on illegal forest activities by a composite team from the DENR, Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office (NEPPO), General Tinio police, and the Philippine Army’s 84th Infantry Battalion in barangays Pias and Rio Chico.

 

In his report, Gerundio Fernandez, DENR provincial office chief, said upon seeing operatives coming over near the area, illegal loggers fled and abandoned the cut logs of tanguile and mayapis along the Sumacbao riverbank.

 

“Illegal loggers took advantage of the high level of water in Sumacbao River brought by heavy rainfalls. Confiscated logs were kept afloat and transported downstream of the river using balsa (raft),” Fernandez said.

 

He said that over PHP800,000 worth of logs were brought to the municipal compound of General Tinio and NEPPO for temporary custody and safekeeping.

 

Meanwhile, DENR Regional Executive Paquito Moreno Jr. thanked the NEPPO and the Army for their significant support in the efforts of the DENR to curb illegal forest activities in Nueva Ecija.

 

This year, the DENR, along with said law enforcement partners, has conducted operations leading to the apprehension of over PHP3.5-million worth of suspected illegal forest products. (PNA)

 

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all the trees will be gone soon if they don't crack down on illegal logging,  Indonesia has wiped out thousand upon thousands of hectares through this criminal activity .