PROSPERIDAD, Agusan del Sur -— Personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the police seized 2,652 pieces of illegally cut logs or 1,152.13 cubic meters at creeks and tributaries of Agusan River during a no-nonsense, round-the-clock operation last week.
However, the owners of the multi-million-peso worth of confiscated logs had escaped as the anti-illegal logging task force of the Loreto Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), led by Eddie Bacomo, and Talacogon CENR Officer Jovencio Munoz, swooped down on the areas.
The haul included the more than 500 pieces of logs of assorted sizes apprehended by the team of CENR Officers Achilles Ebron and Raul Rosales at Bitos, Pagatpatan and Magallanes downstream of Agusan River, according to Caraga DENR Executive Officer Benjamin T. Tumaliuan.
In a report to Environment Secretary Angelo T. Reyes, Tumaliuan – who is closely supervising the operation against illegal logging, stated that an estimated 2,083 pieces or at least 737.18 cubic meters illegally-cut forest products were also found by the task force led by CENR Officer Bacomo at different sites in Sto. Niño, Binucayan, Sto. Tomas, Sta Teresa and Agusan river, all of Loreto town.
The apprehended forest products are temporarily deposited at DENR impounding areas for final scaling and documentation.
Quoting the flash report of Bacomo, Tumaliuan said that about 90 percent of the seized forest products came from titled lands.
The task force in Talacogon also apprehended 569 pieces of logs in Maharlika and Sabang Gibong. (M. Crismundo)
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