Thursday, June 17, 2010

News update Hot lumber recovered in Negros Occidental town

BACOLOD CITY, (PNA) - An estimated P291,440 worth of "hot" or illegally-cut pieces of hardwood were recovered by police officers in Candoni town, Negros Occidental, the provincial police office said Sunday.

The forest materials were believed to have been abandoned by timber poachers from nearby Hinoba-an, the southernmost town in the province.

The products, composed of laua-an, pitong and gisok lumber varieties, were estimated to be 93,643 board feet, Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) spokesperson, C/Insp. Rico Santotome Jr. said.

Candoni Police Chief, Insp. Ramil Robles reported that a team of local police officers he led found the "hot" timber in Sitio Lawagon in Barangay West of the town.

Robles said the forest products may have originated from Barangay Bacuyangan in Hinoba-an.

The Candoni police station has coordinated with the Environment and Natural Resources Office in Sipalay City for proper documentation and disposition of the seized hardwood, the NOPPO said.

NOPPO Director S/Supt. Manuel Felix, meanwhile, directed police chiefs in the 6th District of Negros Occidental to intensify their campaign against illegal loggers in their respective areas and to finally put an end to the unabated timber poaching activities there.

In recent weeks, NOPPO police teams have intercepted cargo trucks with illegally-cut wood materials through checkpoints in the northern and southern parts of the province, and have filed charges for violation of the Forestry Code against their owners.