Hot narra lumber seized in Quezon

LUCENA CITY –– Anti-illegal logging operatives intercepted a mini-truck loaded with illegally cut narra lumber in Tayabas City, Quezon province.

Law enforcers led by Major Gaylord Pagala, intercepted the Izusu Elf loaded with undocumented 24 narra flitches in Barangay Mateuna around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Colonel Audie Madrideo, Quezon police director, said in a report.

Police said the haul has a volume of 270.05 board feet (0.6372 cubic meters) worth about P67,500.

The Tayabas police identified the truck driver as Ralph Gerald de Vera, a resident of Mauban.

Mauban, a coastal town facing the Pacific Ocean, has long been known as a transshipment point for illegal forest products from the Sierra Madre bound for Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog provinces.

Authorities are still investigating if the seized narra lumber came from the northern Quezon side of the Sierra Madre or Northern Luzon.

The Sierra Madre mountain range is home to the largest remaining tract of old-growth tropical rainforest in the Philippines. /lzb