APPROXIMATELY 1,020.8 cubic feet of illegal pine lumber and furniture in various stages of completion were seized by a composite police team in La Trinidad on Friday last week.
This resulted, after a search warrant was served on the owner of a furniture shop located in Puguis, which was found to be keeping P31,381 worth of illegal pine lumber.
Senior Superintendent Cedrick Train, regional chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in the Cordillera, identified the arrested furniture shop owner Thursday as Robert Casionan, 56, a resident of 156 Puguis, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Confiscated then by a composite team from the PNP-CIDG led by Superintendent Victor Wanchakan and another team from the La Trinidad Municipal Police Station led by Senior Inspector Darnell Dulnuan was one set of long chairs, three sets of door frames, seven semi-finished cabinets measuring 3" x 3" x 3", five semi-finished cabinets measuring 0.75" x 3" x 6" and assorted sizes of pine lumber.
Train said the search warrant was issued by Judge Edilberto Claravall of the Baguio's Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 60 for Casionan's alleged violation of Section 68 of Presidential Decree (PD) 705 or use of illegal lumber.
The PNP-CIDG's has an existing project Oplan Kalikasan or the campaign against the illegal destruction of natural resources. (ENO)
