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Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Lumber shipment from CDO seized
A large shipment of lumber, mostly of Lawaan trees, was seized in Pier 7 in Mandaue City minutes after it was unloaded from an inter-island ship yesterday morning.
The shipment, consisting of nine 20-footer container vans from Cagayan De Oro City, does not have a consignee. It wasn’t also indicated in the cargo manifest of mv Subic Bay 1.
“Because the cargo was undeclared, environment officials issued a hold order against it,” said Cebu Coast Guard station assistant chief Senior Petty Officer Limuel Alqueza. His office assisted operatives from the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro).
He said the passenger-cargo vessel of Carlos Gothong Lines already left the pier when the operatives arrived at past 8 a.m. yesterday, so they just opened the six container vans since the shipment was not in the cargo manifest.
The shipment would have slipped past Cebu authorities had it not been for the Coast Guard station in Cagayan de Oro that radioed Cebu Coast Guard yesterday about the 4 a.m. arrival of the shipment of illegally cut lumber. The vessel left Cagayan port at 8 Sunday night.
Management of Gothong Lines declined to comment on the shipment. They also barred media people from entering their van yard when the six container vans were opened.
The government has tightened its campaign against illegal logging, which was blamed for heavy flooding in Rizal and Quezon Provinces that killed several people.
Cenro Chief Laureto Rivac said his office is working to identify the consignee of the shipment so a criminal complaint can be filed against him or her. (AIV)
(August 16, 2005 issue)
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