CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija — Five people were charged with violation of Presidential Decree 705 or the country’s Revised Forestry Code for allegedly transporting more than 4,600 board feet of illegally cut lumber here Thursday.
Charged before the City Prosecutor’s Office were truck driver Marlon Gonzalez, his companions Juancho dela Cruz, Oscar dela Cruz, Fernan Yasania, all from Barangay Rio Chico, and Gabby German of Barangay Concepción, both in Gen. Tinio town in Nueva Ecija province.
Pedro Roque Jr., head of the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) office in Cabanatuan, said the five were caught transporting the lumber in a forward truck, with license plate number RCA 896, by operatives of the NBI and Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) South – Nueva Ecija shortly after midnight Tuesday.
CENRO officerJimmy Aberin said Gonzalez managed to elude arrest but was identified by the other suspects and was thus charged.
Aberin said the haul had an estimated value of more than PHP139,000.