THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Anti Environmental Crime Task Force will look into the missing logs that were handed over to the DENR monitoring and depository station in Butuan City.
“We are looking into the report on the missing logs that was turned over to the DENR monitoring and depository station along the Agusan River in Butuan City by the Maritime Police. We will make our own investigation into this matter and look at this in a different angle and approach,” said Undersecretary Arturo Valdez of the Anti Environmental Crime Task Force.
Valdez said the task force was created with the mandate to address the destruction of our environment.
“We are going to crack down on these violators and criminal acts against the environment. We are dealing with the mining industry, illegal logging and also on the pouching of our critically endangered flora and fauna,” stated Valdez.
Senior Police Officer 2 Arturo Campania, head of the Maritime Police in Butuan City, revealed the events that transpired.
“Last August 9, our team together with Philippine Navy Task Group 72 intercepted undocumented forest products floating along the Agusan River. We apprehended three make shift rafts made out of miscellaneous logs along Barangay Amparo," said Campania.
"We towed them towards the DENR monitoring station in Barangay Bit-os for the proper turn-over of said miscellaneous species for their scaling which were duly received by Mr. Romeo Joseph Dumanon as the duty DENR personnel during that time,” Campania added.
Campania further added that on September 3, their team did another apprehension together with DENR personnel and brought the logs to the said DENR river station.
He said that the apprehension was in response to the report from a confidential agent regarding illegal logging activities of undocumented forest products transported in the river.
"Upon reaching Barangay Bit-os at about 10:13 A.M., the team discovered around 41 poles of miscellaneous species concealed with water lily plant with an estimated value of P6,262.00. On the same day, we apprehended 35 logs of miscellaneous species from four individuals. It had an estimated value of P6,040.00. The team towed the illegal forest products to the same DENR station for scaling,” said Campania.
On September 5, the maritime police team also responded to a report and apprehended several more logs. The team also discovered that the logs apprehended on August 29 and September 3 were no longer at the DENR river station.
“We immediately asked what happened to the logs we turned over from the raids but no one gave us a proper answer. We urge that the leadership in the DENR will act on this because our efforts would have gone into waste,” said the Butuan Maritime Police chief.
Regional Director Nonito Tamayo of the DENR Caraga Region in a statement from a local news station in Butuan City noted that he has already ordered an investigation into the incident and pointed out that the personnel involved has been relieved from their post.