P500T worth of hot lumber confiscated

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Newly cut pieces of lumber, with an estimated volume of 11,954 board feet and worth about P500,000, were seized by joint operatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-8, the military and the police at Barangay San Pedro in Sogod town of Southern Leyte.

The anti-illegal logging operations, headed by Allen Cebuano, chief of the Environment Protection and Law Enforcement Division of DENR-8, said the team of operatives had a search warrant, issued by the court, against Wenceslao Damalerio, a businessman known to be engaged in furniture making in the province.

The raid was carried out after DENR-8 officials got reports from residents in the area about illegal logging activities there, saying they were afraid these might cause disastrous consequences, like flooding and landslides.

Damalerio was allegedly engaged in logging at the area, but without any permits, prompting authorities to conduct the raid at his furniture making site in the barangay where the lumber was found. Damalerio initially resisted upon the serving of the warrant, but he later obliged to the operatives.

A criminal case on illegal logging was later filed against him, while the seized pieces of lumber were transported to the DENR-8 compound in Tacloban for disposition.

Earlier, DENR-8 regional executive director Leonardo Sibbaluca, identified the towns of Silago and Sogod, both in Southern Leyte, the towns of Buaruen, Jaro and La Paz in Leyte, the towns of Marabut and Paranas in Samar, and five other towns in Eastern and Nothern Samar provinces as among the hot spots in the region where illegal logging have been rampant.  (FREEMAN)