ILOILO City – Law enforcers intercepted P530,595 worth of illegal forest products and arrested four individuals during a series of anti-illegal logging operations conducted over a 24-hour period across Western Visayas.
Data from Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) showed that four operations against illegal logging were executed between 6 a.m. on September 24 and 5:59 a.m. on September 25.
The province of Antique recorded the largest volume of timber seizures, where two separate operations yielded P525,075 worth of illegal forest products and led to the arrest of three suspects.
In Aklan, police carried out two operations that resulted in the arrest of one individual and the confiscation of P5,520 worth of forest products.
PRO-6 director Police Brigadier General Randulf T. Tuaño stressed that protecting the region’s natural resources requires both strict law enforcement and community vigilance.
“Hindi natin maaaring hayaang masira ang ating kagubatan at katubigan dahil sa ilegal na gawain,” Tuaño said. “Patuloy nating paiigtingin ang enforcement, intelligence gathering, at koordinasyon sa DENR, BFAR, LGUs, at iba pang katuwang na ahensya upang mapanagot ang mga lumalabag at mapigilan ang pagkasira ng ating likas na yaman.”
Tuaño also urged the public to immediately report illegal logging and other environmental crimes to the nearest police station or partner agencies.
The anti-logging operations were part of a broader regional environmental crackdown dubbed “PRO6 Bantay Kalikasan” which netted a total of P1,373,075 worth of illegal forest products and maritime items, along with 15 arrests across 14 separate operations.
Of the total operations, 10 were launched against illegal fishing, resulting in the arrest of 11 individuals and the seizure of fishing equipment valued at P842,480./PN
