4 nabbed for illegal coconut logging in Quezon; hot lumber seized

LUCENA CITY — Police arrested four suspected illegal coconut loggers and seized a van loaded with hot lumber in Quezon province on Saturday, police said Sunday.

The Quezon police office in a report said a team of policemen confiscated 548 pieces of freshly sawn coconut lumber while being transported aboard a van in Barangay (village) Pagaguasan in Unisan town around 5:40 p.m.

Police arrested Ronald Villasor and Leonora Almira after they failed to produce documents from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) giving them authority to cut and transport the coconut lumber.

The seized illegally cut lumber is worth P35,620 in the underground market.

In Gumaca town, police also arrested Lorenzo Rodrigo Jr., 52, and Estelito Benig Jr., 29, while stacking piles of newly sawn coconut lumber in Barangay Buensuceso around 12:30 p.m.

Authorities seized 300 board feet of coconut lumber estimated to be worth P3,000.

The duo also failed to produce valid permits from the PCA.

Under Republic Act No. 8048 or the Coconut Preservation Act of 1995, the cutting of coconut trees is prohibited unless a permit is secured at the local PCA office.

Republic Act 10593, which amends RA 8048, only allows cutting when the tree is “severely disease-infested and beyond rehabilitation” or was “severely damaged” by typhoon or lightning.