SOME 200 board feet illegally-cut mahogany logs and two carabaos used to ferry the seized logs were impounded recently by the Provincial Environment Natural Resource Office (Penro) in central Negros Occidental.
Penro head Jesse Vego said the seizure happened two weeks ago following information that reached his office with regard to the said illegal activity.
“We conducted the inventory and investigation is still ongoing,” said Vego.
He said he could not name yet the involved persons and their “connivers” as it may hamper current internal investigations of Penro.
Vego said the seized logs belong to a private person financed by a businessman, a local investor in the town.
He opined that Don Salvador Benedicto, the “Summer Capital” of Negros Occidental should not be infested for human habitation and should be preserved as a tourist destination.
He said the fast-growing and increasing number of tourism arrivals could have triggered the construction of many infrastructures such as rest houses and restaurants that also caused the illegal logging of trees in the town.