Logs Seized in Nueva Ecija, Philippines
A composite team from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army (PA) have recovered a total of 4,894 board feet of alleged illegal lumber from a residential compound in Barangay Pulong Matong here on Friday.
Joselito Blanco, community environment and natural resources officer for Nueva Ecija-South, said government operatives were armed with a search warrant issued by Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Celso Baguio of Gapan City when they recovered some 173 pieces of lumber from the compound of a certain Amado Abainza that was allegedly maintained by a certain Reynaldo Torres, a resident of the same place.
The suspect, however, did not show up in the whole process even after over 24 hours of waiting by the operatives, Blanco said.
But village councilor Luther Pajarillaga said it was the first time suspected illegal lumber were deposited in the vicinity of Pulong Matong.
“You can hear cases like this in Barangay Rio Chico or Concepcion, but it’s the first time in our barangay,” Pajarillaga said.