DENR condemns killing of forest ranger, Dumagat volunteer worker in Isabela 

CITY OF ILAGAN – Two men found dead on Oct. 9 in a forest in Isabela turned out to be a forest ranger and a Dumagat environmental volunteer who were killed while they were working at the boundary of the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park in the coastal town of Dinapigue.

The Cagayan Valley office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Thursday condemned the murder of Palanan forest ranger Marcial Pattaguan and Dumagat resident Bronsel Impiel.

The two men were part of a team that was setting the demarcation lines of the forest, said lawyer Gil Aromin, DENR Cagayan Valley director.

Pattaguan and Impiel entered the forest on October 2 along with the rest of the team, and were killed on Oct. 9, according to Senior Insp. Clarence Labasan, Dinapigue police chief.

Their remains were found in a shallow grave at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 9, after other members of the team alerted the police about gunshots fired where the two men were assigned to work. /ee

READ: Bodies of 2 missing men found in Isabela forest