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NV loggers, furniture makers probed for timber poaching
BY JOAN CAPUNA

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – Police are investigating involvement of several furniture makers here with illegal timber poachers by buying illegally sourced wood materials.

Several such illegal loggers were identified in various parts of the province, especially in the towns of Bambang, Kasibu and Kayapa, as well as in Ambaguio and Quezon towns, Senior Supt. Segundo Duran, provincial police director, said.

The timber poachers have allegedly been conniving with several furniture makers and wood processors for continues supply of wood to their establishments, resulting in the further degradation of the province’s remaining forest cover.

“We know the illegal loggers and buyers of illegally sourced wood based on reports of our men. We are just waiting to catch them red-handed,” he said.

The provincial police director identified the said personalities in an earlier briefing with some provincial officials based on a report of the newly-formed multi-sectoral Task Force Oplan Kahoy. The task force was created to curb illegal logging activities in the wake of a call by Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma to probe rampant timber poaching here.

According to the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources, timber poaching had been a perennial headache for environmentalist groups here, considering that this landlocked province is the region’s watershed, especially Magat River, one of the major sources of irrigation water and power generation for the Magat Dam.

Cuaresma, alarmed over the illegal activity, said residents need to link up with the provincial government to stop this age-old practice.