Isabela police chief wants Sierra Madre trails sealed

TUGUEGARAO CITY  – The provincial police director of Isabela is thinking of sealing trails leading to the Sierra Madre mountain range that are used by loggers in transporting illegally cut forest products to the lowlands.

Senior Supt. Sotero Ramos said illegal logging would continue in the province despite the current total logging ban as long as these mountain trails are open.

In an inter-agency dialogue with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Ilagan City, Ramos took note of persistent reports that most confiscated forest products were declared “abandoned.”

Last week, he said police seized nearly 10,000 board feet of sawn lumber, mostly narra, in San Mariano town, a known illegal logging hotspot in Isabela.

The hot lumber was “abandoned” or had no identified owner, he said.

Ramos said the total log ban is not enough to arrest the continued degradation of the Sierra Madre if no government agency would initiate the sealing of mountain trails still used by illegal loggers.