Illegal logs seized in protected town in NCotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Forest rangers of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) confiscated on Friday some 3,600 board feet or 8.48 cubic meters of illegally cut logs of the binuang tree, a naturally grown species in Barangay Buena Vida, a declared ancestral domain of the Bagobo tribe in Makilala in North Cotabato. Reports from the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) in Makilala said the logs were loaded on a 10-wheeler truck with plate number GKJ 273 for delivery to a dealer in a nearby village, when intercepted by community members. The "vigilant" community members were assisted by paramilitary volunteers of the 38th Infantry Battalion and the DENR. The cargo was scaled by the MENRO and DENR, showing there were 315 pieces of lumber with different dimensions totaling 3,597 board feet loaded in the truck. “The arrest of these violators was in effect due to a vigilant community," said Walter Ruizo of MENRO. Ruizo said the cargo was the second delivery since last week. A few days earlier, some 2,000 board feet of binuang, along with marang and mahogany timber, were transported during a midnight loading. Records showed that a certain Lamir Maway, resident of Barangay Buena Vida, owned the timber. During the investigation, Maway told MENRO personnel that the logs were to be delivered to RNF Summit Woodworks located at Barangay Bulatukan, also in Makilala town. Maway claimed there was nothing illegal in his delivery and presented to authorities pertinent papers as proof. Among the documents were the undated certification issued by Datu Jaime Odo Sr., tribal chieftain of Buena Vida, which endorsed the intent of Maway to use nine mahogany trees, 11 marang trees, and a binuang tree. It stated, however, that the logs would not be used for commercial purposes. It also said that no lumber should be brought outside the barangay where the certification was issued. But another endorsement coming from a tribal chieftain identified as Datu Bienvenido Macalos, also from Buena Vida, has contravened the certification issued by Datu Odo. It stated there that Maway requested the cutting down of those trees for commercial purposes. Ruizo reiterated the cutting of trees for commercial use in areas identified as part of the ancestral domain of indigenous tribes is strictly prohibited under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act. Also, he said the cutting of naturally-grown species of trees, like binuang, is not allowed under Presidential Decree 705 or the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines.—Malu Cadelina-Manar/JMA/JV, GMANews.TV