DENR 13 admits having hard time going after illegal loggers

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BUTUAN CITY – The regional, provincial and city anti-illegal logging task force confiscated more than R7.386 million worth of illegal lumber products as officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Tuesday confirmed that illegal logging operations in some parts of Caraga region was still rampant.

As such, the anti-illegal logging task force of the DENR has strengthened environment preservation and forest protection programs in different places in Caraga region, particularly in Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur provinces, in an effort to arrest timber poachers and illegal wood traders.

For the first five months in year 2017, the DENR Enforcement Division has recorded 1,824,098.4 bd. ft. of illegally-cut forest products seized in the different parts of the five provinces and six cities in Caraga region.

The total value of these confiscated illegal forest products rose to more than R7.386 million. These contraband forest products are now in the different depository areas of the DENR.

Agusan del Sur registered the most number of apprehended and seized illegal forest products for the first five months with a total of 732,549 bd. ft. lumber products and 2,100 cubic meters (7,494 pieces) cut logs valued at R3.3 million.

“The figures are a bad indication that timber poaching is very much active in some areas despite of the prevailing ban on harvesting and cutting of trees in natural and residual forest under EO 23,” admitted DENR Region 13 Director Charlie E. Fabre.

Because of this, the regional office of the DENR based here has ordered all provincial and city environment and natural resources offices (PENROs, CENROs) all over the region to step up their foot patrols in the forest areas by the teams of the LAWIN Forest and Biodiversity Protection System formed by the DENR.

“These may have been helpful in the monitoring of illegal cutting of trees and illegal trading of endangered species in the forest areas but these strategies need to be boosted further by the full support of the community who knew where these illegal activities are taking place,” Director Fabre said.

DENR personnel may have intensified its “search and confiscate operation” of illegal forest products in areas considered as “hot spots or areas with high incidence of illegal cuttings,” but timber poachers and smugglers remained elusive since not one of them has been jailed for charges with violation of the Philippines Forestry Laws, Rules and Regulations.

“It appears that the ones doing the illegal logging activities have better monitoring gadgets but nevertheless the hands of the law will catch them,” DENR 13 Enforcement Division Officer Modesto Lagumbay Jr. also said.