ORMOC CITY– Authorities recovered a chainsaw believed to have been used in the illegal cutting of indigenous trees during an operation on Thursday afternoon, April 3, in a remote forested area of Barangay Guindapunan, Culaba town, Biliran province.
The suspect, identified only by the alias “Yano,” a farmer and resident of the said barangay, managed to flee before operatives could arrest him.
According to the Culaba Municipal Police Station, the anti-illegal logging operation was conducted jointly with personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-PENRO) Biliran.
During the operation, authorities seized a portable chainsaw with no visible serial number, believed to have been used in the illegal activity. Also found at the site were approximately 720 board feet of assorted indigenous lumber, estimated to be worth P36,000.
The suspect reportedly escaped upon sensing the presence of law enforcement, abandoning the chainsaw and the cut lumber.
The recovered items have been turned over to the DENR-PENRO Biliran for proper disposition and further investigation.
(ROBERT DEJON)
