DENR, Aurora fishermen in tug-of-war over logs

HUGE FINDS Fishermen recover over 100 logs off the coastlines of Aurora province between Feb. 12 and Feb. 14. Authorities say the logs could have originated from Papua New Guinea based on the stickers. —PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES-AURORA

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines — Several fishermen in Aurora province have asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to give them the 175 big logs they found floating in the Pacific Ocean.

The logs were discovered near the coastlines of the towns of Baler, San Luis, Dinalungan, Casiguran, Dilasag and Dingalan from Feb. 12 to Feb. 14, according to Police Brig. Gen Valeriano de Leon, Central Luzon police chief.

Various lengths

The logs were in various lengths, the longest being 19.8 meters (65 feet), and bore stickers with the marking, “Papua New Guinea Forest Authority.”

The fishermen who retrieved the logs were invoking the principle of “finders keepers,” said Alfredo Collado, provincial chief of the DENR in Aurora.

“But the DENR advised them (fishermen) that they cannot process the said logs into lumber until and unless the government says so,” Collado said in a Feb. 13 report to Paquito Moreno, executive director of the DENR in Central Luzon.

Collado said in case the DENR keeps the logs, the fishermen wanted to be paid for the cost of hauling, towing and lost days of fishing.

Moreno said the true owner of the logs was being traced, adding that these could have been unloaded at sea to save the vessel from rough waves.

No sea accidents

But the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard said there were no recent maritime accidents in the area.

Collado said the logs had been secured, listed and placed in the custody of the villages where they were found, and closely watched by the local police.

He said the logs were not locally cut because the tree species, such as the Terminalia brassii and Pometia spp, are native to Papua New Guinea.

Oysters and algae were found on the logs, indicating these have been in the waters for some time, Collado said.

He said retrieval operations would continue to prevent the floating logs from obstructing fishing activities, damaging small boats and endangering the lives of fishermen especially at night.

—Tonette Orejas