Police seize coco lumber in Laguna

SANTA CRUZ, Laguna - Intelligence agents from the Laguna police confiscated more than 18,000 board feet of coconut lumber and arrested three men who tried to bring the wood out of the province early Monday. Police identified the suspected illegal loggers as Cesar Managas, 46, and his helpers Alberto Pontamillas, 18, and Jomar Inso, 21. Senior Supt. Manolito Labador, Laguna police director, said elements of the Intelligence and Investigation Branch of the provincial police office flagged down the Isuzu 10-wheeler truck (RHD 57) loaded with coconut lumber along the highway at Barangay Patimbao about 3 a.m. Labador said he deployed his men in the area after receiving reports that traders use the Sta. Cruz town as exit point of trucks delivering “hot logs" to Metro Manila from nearby Quezon province. The men failed to present documents pertaining to the ownership of the coconut lumber, prompting policemen to believe that the items were unlawfully cut somewhere in Quezon. The suspects, who were detained at the Sta. Cruz police jail, will be charged with violation of Republic Act 8048, or the Coconut Preservation Act of 1995. Labador said the confiscated lumber will be turned over to the Philippine Coconut Authority in Alaminos, Laguna. - GMANews.TV