Police intercept illegal coconut lumber in Quezon

LUCENA CITY – Police intercepted a truck loaded with illegally cut coconut lumber worth P37,500 in a checkpoint in Tiaong town in Quezon province on Wednesday, police said Thursday.

Report said elements from Quezon Provincial Public Safety Company (QPPSC) flagged down an Isuzu Elf truck loaded with an estimated 1,500 board feet of illegally cut coconut lumber in Barangay (village) Cabay around 7 p.m.

The truck driver, Jun Violante, failed to produce documents from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) giving him authority to cut and transport the coconut lumber. The suspect is under the custody of QPPSC in its headquarters in Candelaria town.

On January 3, the PCA implemented the nationwide suspension of the cutting of coconut trees except in Basilan province and Isabela City, where an infestation of coconut scale insect or “cocolisap” had been reported. The ban will last until the end of March while the agency reviews the implementing rules of Republic Act 10593, which amends RA 8048.

RA 10593 only allows cutting when the tree is “severely disease-infested and beyond rehabilitation” or was “severely damaged” by typhoon or lightning. But like RA 8048, RA 10593 requires a permit from the PCA to cut trees. JE