Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Community ENR Office (DENR–CENRO) has caught illegal loggers inside the Bulabog-Putian National Park (BPNP), which is a protected area in the town of Dingle, Iloilo.
A criminal complaint was filed against the suspects named Donald L. Cordero, Kenneth L. Lazarito, Arlie L. Perra, and Erwin P. Gardoce in the town of Dingle, Iloilo on May 5, according to a report.
The suspects were caught cutting, gathering, and clearing trees inside the park with the use of an unregistered chainsaw (STIHL 070 with Serial No. 427821113).
Violators of Section 7 of the Chainsaw Act will be fined not less than Php 30,000 but not more than Php 50,000 for the unlawful use of chainsaw with a six to eight years imprisonment.
The violators are also facing a separate charge for illegal tree cutting for cutting a total of three round logs of Mahogany tree species equivalent to 1.87 cubic meter or 792.88 board feet.
“A permit for cutting trees must first be secured from a CENRO who has jurisdiction over the area where the trees that will be cut are planted,” the complaint states.
“No virus threat could deter our men on the ground from doing their job. After all, protecting our environment from such criminal offense is linked to the protection of our health. Due to misuse of our natural resources, the world is now facing one of the greatest health threat mankind had ever experienced in this lifetime,” DENR 6 regional executive director Francisco E. Milla Jr. said.
“While we grapple to defeat COVID-19, we should not forget and rest our guards against unscrupulous individuals that took advantage of the crisis by perpetrating their selfish desire to gain unwinding the protection of the environment,” he added. (DENR-6)
