Truckload of hot logs intercepted in North Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY – A truckload of suspected illegally sawn premium lumber was seized by authorities on Sunday in the hinterlands of Makilala town in North Cotabato province. Engr. Walter Ruizo, environment officer of Makilala town, said the 2,000 board-feet of lumber belonged to the Nilo variety, a premium species that has a current standard market value of P12, 000 per cubic meter. It is proven to last for more than 50 years below ground surface and deemed most fit for housing and furniture use. The suspected illegally cut logs were loaded in a truck owned by one Arturo Coscos, who claimed the logs were intended for the construction of his house and not for commercial use. The logs were seized following an entrapment operation carried out by members of the Army’s 38th Infantry Battalion in Sitio Garing in Barangay Luayon after receiving tips from residents. Coscos, who allegedly could not present a permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and his driver were arrested on the spot. Ruizo said the logs were sourced from the timberlands at Sitio Kapatagan, also in Barangay Luayon, some 10 kilometers away from an Army outpost. He said they will also look into reports that Coscos and his family are involved in a number of slash-and-burn (kaingin) activities in Sitio Kapatagan in the same village. Illegal logging, which results in the destruction of watersheds and river systems, has been blamed for some disastrous floods and landslides in the Philippines lately, forcing President Benigno Aquino III to order an indefinite logging moratorium nationwide.— Malu Cadelina Manar/KBK, GMA News