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BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—Anti-illegal logging enforcers in Quirino have a lot of explaining to do after agents of the National Bureau of Investigation blocked a truck loaded with illegally cut lumber on Tuesday.
Lawyer Florencio Canlas, chief of the NBI district office here, said the hot lumber, consisting of about 9,500 board feet of red lauan (Shorea teysmanniana) and loaded in a six-wheel truck, came from Maddela town and was supposed to be delivered in Cabanatuan City.
“This will be our first catch under [Executive Order No.] 23,” Canlas said, referring to the executive order issued by President Aquino which declared a nationwide ban on the cutting and harvesting of lumber.
The agents arrested the truck driver, Simplicio Busalpa, and his helper, Raffy Perry, after they failed to present permits when they were flagged down on the national highway in Barangay Bonfal Proper here at around 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Canlas said the two shipped the P350,000 worth of lumber without a single shipping document. A check with the Land Transportation Office here also showed that the truck bore a fake license plate.
“[The suspects] changed the license plate [before it reached Bayombong] hoping to mislead our agents.”
“Fortunately, our team had other ways of determining that the truck was their target,” Canlas said.
NBI sources said the illegally harvested lumber were sourced from as far as the forests of Nagtipunan town in Quirino and Dingalan town in Aurora, and stockpiled at a compound owned by a resident in Maddela.
They said they were puzzled how the illegal shipment slipped past at least five checkpoints along the 100-km stretch of road passing through Quirino, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya.
NBI agent Rowan Victor Estrellado, in a report, said Busalpa questioned his arrest, saying the shipment had the approval of government authorities.
“Sir, this has been cleared for shipment. You can talk to our boss to settle this,” Estrellado quoted Busalpa as telling him.
After the arrest, Estrellado said he received several calls from a woman, said to be a resident of Cabanatuan City, who claimed to be the owner of the confiscated timber.
“She was very persistent. At one point, she offered to give us [in the NBI] a reward of P800,000 if we released the truck and the shipment,” Estrellado said.
Another NBI source said top law enforcement officials have been calling the agents, requesting for the release of the shipment.
Celso Aresta, Quirino environment officer, said the truck passed through several checkpoints without being blocked by government and police personnel.
Aresta said an investigation would be conducted to determine the liability of government personnel tasked with monitoring and stopping shipments of illegally cut lumber in the province.
Senior Superintendent Delfin Millo, Quirino police director, said the illegal shipment may have passed through checkpoints manned by policemen because as a policy they do not inspect the contents of vehicles with closed compartments.
“[The campaign against] illegal logging is the primary duty of the DENR,” Millo said. Melvin Gascon, Inquirer Northern Luzon
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Lawyer Florencio Canlas, chief of the NBI district office here, said the hot lumber, consisting of about 9,500 board feet of red lauan (Shorea teysmanniana) and loaded in a six-wheel truck, came from Maddela town and was supposed to be delivered in Cabanatuan City.
“This will be our first catch under [Executive Order No.] 23,” Canlas said, referring to the executive order issued by President Aquino which declared a nationwide ban on the cutting and harvesting of lumber.
The agents arrested the truck driver, Simplicio Busalpa, and his helper, Raffy Perry, after they failed to present permits when they were flagged down on the national highway in Barangay Bonfal Proper here at around 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Canlas said the two shipped the P350,000 worth of lumber without a single shipping document. A check with the Land Transportation Office here also showed that the truck bore a fake license plate.
“[The suspects] changed the license plate [before it reached Bayombong] hoping to mislead our agents.”
“Fortunately, our team had other ways of determining that the truck was their target,” Canlas said.
NBI sources said the illegally harvested lumber were sourced from as far as the forests of Nagtipunan town in Quirino and Dingalan town in Aurora, and stockpiled at a compound owned by a resident in Maddela.
They said they were puzzled how the illegal shipment slipped past at least five checkpoints along the 100-km stretch of road passing through Quirino, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya.
NBI agent Rowan Victor Estrellado, in a report, said Busalpa questioned his arrest, saying the shipment had the approval of government authorities.
“Sir, this has been cleared for shipment. You can talk to our boss to settle this,” Estrellado quoted Busalpa as telling him.
After the arrest, Estrellado said he received several calls from a woman, said to be a resident of Cabanatuan City, who claimed to be the owner of the confiscated timber.
“She was very persistent. At one point, she offered to give us [in the NBI] a reward of P800,000 if we released the truck and the shipment,” Estrellado said.
Another NBI source said top law enforcement officials have been calling the agents, requesting for the release of the shipment.
Celso Aresta, Quirino environment officer, said the truck passed through several checkpoints without being blocked by government and police personnel.
Aresta said an investigation would be conducted to determine the liability of government personnel tasked with monitoring and stopping shipments of illegally cut lumber in the province.
Senior Superintendent Delfin Millo, Quirino police director, said the illegal shipment may have passed through checkpoints manned by policemen because as a policy they do not inspect the contents of vehicles with closed compartments.
“[The campaign against] illegal logging is the primary duty of the DENR,” Millo said. Melvin Gascon, Inquirer Northern Luzon
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]