Flitches from illegal logs found in riverbed

DENR agents and policemen carry some of the flitches found at the bottom of a river in Mauban town in Quezon province. PHOTO FROM DENR

LUCENA CITY—Agents of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and policemen recovered P4.5 million in illegally cut logs at the bottom of a river in Mauban, Quezon province, a town facing the Pacific Ocean and a known transshipment point of poached logs from the Sierra Madre.

The government forces were able to retrieve 420 pieces of flitches of “kamagong” (Diospyrus blancoi) and narra (Pterocarpus indicus), both banned forest tree species, that were hidden at the bottom of Tapucan River in Mauban.

The logs were found during an operation on May 15, according to Gaudencio Audie de la Cruz, public affairs office head of DENR-Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon).

In a report, De la Cruz said the recovered forest products have a total volume of 17,969 board feet (42.4 cubic meters).

The same report said Miliarete Panaligan, head of DENR office in Real town in northern Quezon, led divers in retrieving the submerged hardwood.

Quoting Panaligan, De la Cruz said law enforcers believe the logs came from the Sierra Madre mountain ranges in Cagayan and Isabela in northern Luzon.

The report said the illegal loggers hid the flitches at the bottom of river to escape detection by authorities.

In a recent interview, Panaligan said she has informants that regularly give tips about illegal logging.

“The people are already fed up with environmental destruction and that’s why they are now helping us even through text messages,” Panaligan said.