BALER, Aurora - Crafting up measures to eradicate illegal logging without compromising the supply of lumber for household needs and various government infrastructure projects, the provincial government of Aurora have forged an agreement with logging firms operating in the province to allocate at least 10 percent of their annual wood production for local consumption.
A recent dialogue between Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, the Industries Development Corporation (IDC), Pacific Timber Export Corporation (Pateco), CKY Lumber, and San Roque Sawmill, represented by Michael Ong, Ferdie Lu, Johnny Chua and Ben Ching respectively, pledged to establish common lumber distribution outlets in designated areas in Baler, Dingalan and Northern Aurora towns to cater to the demand of woods in the province.
The four firms were the only legitimate companies with an existing legal permit to engage in logging activities in Aurora.
Under the agreement, the firms will deliver lumber to designated distribution outlets at a reduced price which was pegged at P28 per board foot - lower by P4 from its prevailing price of P32 per board feet.
But unscrupulous dealers, deriving undocumented lumber from illegal sources, are allegedly selling at a very low price of P16 per board foot, according to Alfred Collado, district environment officer for Casiguran.
It was gathered that there are at least three alleged illegal lumber dealers in Baler alone which are under the surveillance of DENR.
