By Noel Punzalan/PNA
COTABATO CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DENR-ARMM) and police authorities are investigating the discovery of some 5,000 board feet of illegally-cut wood in Balabagan, Lanao del Sur despite the total log ban in the area.
Upon learning of the incident on Tuesday, DENR-ARMM Secretary Kahal Kedtag said he has instructed the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Balabagan to coordinate with police on finding the people behind the malpractice.
“I have ordered the CENRO to also look into the case and help find the people behind it,” Kedtag said.
The ARMM has imposed a total log ban in its area components – the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and Lanao del Sur, and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan – since 2011.
Around 4 p.m. Sunday, the Balabagan police reported the discovery of red Lawaan logs at a section of the Mono-an River in the boundary of Barangay Salaman and Matimos in Balabagan.
In their report, the police said the logs, valued at some PHP200,000, were stockpiled by illegal loggers operating in the area and nearby mountainous Matanog town in Maguindanao.
Police said the timber would probably be sneaked through river channels connecting Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao to prospective lumber buyers in Cotabato City with the use of motorized bancas.
If caught, Kedtag said those behind the incident would be penalized for violation of environmental laws.
