ENVIRONMENT personnel inspect the pieces of cut lumber seized from Guimbangco-an Barangay Captain Richie Fiel, the Association of Barangay Councils president of Sibonga, Cebu, last Monday, May 1, 2017. (CONTIRBUTED PHOTO/DENR CENRO ARGAO)
Village officials are the first line of defense against the abuse of natural resources, but a municipal councilor-cum-barangay captain in Sibonga in southern Cebu now finds himself in deep trouble for allegedly violating forestry laws.
Richie Fiel, 36, the barangay captain of Guimbangco-an, was caught close to midnight on Monday for allegedly transporting on board his truck freshly cut hot lumber while the vehicle was passing through a road in Sibonga town, 60.7 kilometers south of Cebu City.
Fiel, who is the president of the town’s Association of Barangay Councils and thus sits as a member of the municipal council, was arrested by forest rangers of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) after at least 266 trees were found in his vehicle.
Also arrested with him was his helper, Clyde Campaner, 30.
They were on board a cargo truck loaded with native logs when they were spotted by the DENR forest rangers at around 11 p.m. on Monday.
When they could not present any permit to transport logs, the village official and his companion were escorted to the Sibonga Police Station.
Among the species of the trees they allegedly cut include acacia, dita and lanete, said PO3 Ederlino Bacusmo, investigator of the Sibonga Police Station.
The wood species are known as construction materials and are good for making furniture.
Charges will be filed against Fiel and Campaner today for violating Section 77 of Presidential Decree 705, or the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines as amended under the Republic Act 7161, which prohibits the cutting of trees without a permit from the DENR.
They are temporarily detained at the Sibonga Police Station while the charges against them are being prepared.
Denial
Fiel denied the allegations.
Upon interrogation by the police, Fiel reportedly insisted he did not cut any tree, according to Bacusmo.
Bacusmo said Fiel was also quoted as saying that his vehicle, a Mitsubishi Fuso Canter truck with plate number AAD 8871, was just used to transport the logs.
“Igo ra gigamit ang akong sakyanan. (My vehicle was just utilized to transport the logs),” Fiel told the police, said Bacusmo.
But Fiel did not elaborate and would not say where the trees were cut and who owned them, the police investigator said.
He said Fiel was also mum on the destination of the confiscated logs, valued at around P50,000.
The logs were brought to the DENR office in Argao, the town that adjoins Sibonga located 66.9 km south of Cebu City.
They will be used as evidence against the village chief and his helper.
He stressed the arrest was legal as DENR’s forest rangers have the authority to arrest persons who violate environmental laws.
Suspension
DENR Undersecretary Noel Felongco, on the other hand, encouraged the DENR-7 office to file the appropriate charges against Fiel and Campaner.
“Criminal and administrative charges must be filed against this barangay official and be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Felongco told Cebu Daily News.
He also appealed to the DENR-7 to initiate an investigation against Fiel to determine if there are sufficient grounds to suspend or remove the village chief from office.
Dr. Eddie Llamedo, the spokesman of DENR-7, said they were now just waiting for the police investigation report before conducting its own inventory to determine the number of trees that were cut and their species.
“We will also get the affidavit of the witnesses,” Llamedo added.
The law
Section 77 of Presidential Decree 705 prohibits the “cutting, gathering or collecting timber, or other forest products without license.”
“Any person who shall cut, gather, collect removed timber or other forest products from any forest land or timber from alienable or disposable public land or from private land without any authority or without legal documents shall be punished,” the provision read.
“If he (Fiel) is also proven with the violation committed, then as a government official, he can be dismissed from public office or disqualified from any appointed or elective position,” Llamedo said.
If found guilty by the court, Fiel and Campaner will be imprisoned for more than two years and will be mandated to pay a fine of about P20,000.
Llamedo reminds the public that even if the trees are cut from private or public land, one has to secure a permit from the DENR.
“Mogamay or modako man ang volume (Regardless of the volume of trees that will be cut), there is still a need to secure permits,” said Llamedo.
The DENR has likewise established checkpoints and coordinated with law enforcement agencies to prevent illegal cutting of trees, he said.
Surprised
Sibonga Vice Mayor Rey Apuda was surprised when he learned about Fiel’s arrest.
He said Fiel recently acquired a truck but has not heard that the barangay captain was involved in illegal logging.
“Nagtuo ko nga gigamit lang na ang iyang sakyanan pagkarga og mga kahoy. (I really thought that his vehicle was just used to transport logs),” Apuda told CDN.
Apuda attended yesterday a gathering in Argao and had yet to talk to the councilors on whether or not to conduct an investigation against Fiel.
“Wala pa g’yud ko kahibaw sa detalye ana. (I have no idea about the details of the case),” he said.