SOLSONA: Philippines police have seized 1,384 board feet of illicit narra logs worth more than P131,000 in Santa Ana village here the other day.
Tipped by a concerned citizen through a text message, local authorities led by Police Senior Inspector Leonardo Tolentino and town mayor Jonathan de Lara immediately proceeded to the area at about 1 p.m. Monday and discovered at least 82 pieces of illegally cut logs abandoned along a village road in sitio Cabatacan.
In an inventory conducted by forest rangers of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the freshly-sawn narra lumber was estimated to have a market value of P131,492.25.
As of press time, police investigators have yet to identify the suspects behind the illegal cutting activity.
“The investigation is still in progress. We need to have a witness in order for us to file a case against the perpetrators,” said Tolentino.
Under Presidential Decree 705, also known as the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines, the illegal cutting, gatheringm and transporting of trees and other forest products are punishable by more than six years in prison.
