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Bacolod City, Philippines Saturday, May 12, 2012
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Task Force Ilahas sues 8
for illegal forest products
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

Task Force Ilahas has filed charges for violation of Section 77 of the Presidential Decree 705 against eight persons who were intercepted last month at a checkpoint in Ilog, before the Provincial Prosecutor's Office of Negros Occidental.

The group was nabbed for transporting forest products without a permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Supt. Armando Tubongbanua, TFI action officer, said yesterday that the eight respondents, identified as Lord Ambo, Arvil Ilagan, Julmar Patenio, Judy Intong, Jenel Utrada, Jose Emrace, Ronel Sotto and Wilbert Hipolito, have been remitted to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology for detention.

Tubongbanua said their arrest on April 28 in Brgy. Dancalan, Ilog, while were on board four tricycles, also led to the confiscation of 141 sacks of charcoal.

He said the filing of charges against the eight suspects indicates “ We mean business” and will not spare anybody, in the campaign against technical smuggling of forest products and cutting of banned species of trees in southern Negros.

Tubongbanua said they have observed that permits for the transport of forest products are being secured in Sipalay, but the cutting of trees is being done in Cauayan, which is tantamount to technical smuggling.

The Philippine Army in Negros Occidental will soon be actively involved in the environmental campaign.

Major General Jose Mabanta Jr., 3 rd Infantry Division commander, said Army soldiers will not only be the guardians of peace in Western Visayas, but also of the environment soon.

Mabanta said the 301 st and 303 rd Infantry Brigades soldiers will help protect the 473,476.49 hectares of timber and forest land in Region 6, under the recently created Regional Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force (RAILTF).

Infantry units under the 3ID will integrate the information and, education campaign and advocacy on environmental protection, and checkpoints to monitor the transport of forest products, Mabanta, said.

The RAILTF-6, which is composed of the representatives of the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources, Interior and Local Government, Armed Forces of the Philippines and National Police, is tasked to enforce the logging moratorium and lead the anti-illegal logging campaign of the government.

Before the activation of RAILTF in the region, policemen in Negros Occidental had already been actively involved in the anti-illegal logging campaign in the province, since 2001, under the supervision of the Provincial Environment and Management Office.* GPB

 

 

 

 

 

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