LUCENA CITY – Police seized a truck loaded with illegally cut coconut lumber in Sampaloc town in Quezon province on Thursday (July 28), police said Friday.
The Quezon police reported that Sampaloc policemen received information about the illegal coconut lumber being transported in Barangay San Roque around 9:15 p.m.
The cops found a truck driven by Rogelio Unlayao loaded with an estimated 5,000 board feet of newly sawn coconut lumber valued at P80,000.
The truck driver and his helpers, Reynold Palacio and his brother Jose, all residents of nearby Mauban town, failed to produce documents from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), giving them authority to cut and transport the coconut lumber.
Under Republic Act No. 8048, or the Coconut Preservation Act of 1995, cutting coconut trees is prohibited unless a permit is secured at the local PCA office.
The police impounded the vehicle and the lumber to be taken to the PCA office in Lucena City for proper disposition.
The suspects were detained at the local police jail.
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