DENR forester survives attack

Police have secured a government forest ranger who survived a gun attack in Cabanatuan City on Thursday after he seized lumber from a furniture shop owner in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija.

Senior Superintendent Crizaldo Nieves, Nueva Ecija police director, said Edgardo de

Luna, an employee of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Talavera town, remained under the protection of the police to ensure his safety during investigation.

One of two unidentified suspects shot and wounded De Luna as he was on his way home driving his jeepney at 5:15 p.m. along the Maharlika Highway in Barangay Bitas, Cabanatuan, a police report on Saturday said.

De Luna, 47, was hit in the face and had regained consciousness on Saturday.

The attack happened after De Luna confiscated some 1,000 board feet of wood from an owner of a furniture shop in Barangay Antipolo in Bongabon, a town at the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges.

Maximo Dichoso, DENR Central Luzon regional executive director, said the incident had been reported to the DENR field operations.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said at least 20 DENR employees, contractual workers and civil society partners had been killed from 2010 to July 2012.  Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon