In the Philippines, a retired military officer at the helm of the country's anti-illegal logging taskforce has been accused of helping criminals carry out that very crime, according to Inquirer News.
This accusation was made in a confidential report compiled by special assistant Isoceles Otero that was submitted to Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo. The retired military officer singled out as leading the effort to protect illegal loggers in the region of Caraga is Gen. Renato Miranda, who also leads the Philippines' Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force, which is part of the country's Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR). Specifically, Miranda has been accused of leading an operation to collect "protection money" from illegal loggers and financiers.
The report named a retired Marine officer, referred to as "Colonel Ga," as taking orders from Miranda. Both Miranda and Ga have denied being involved in the illicit logging activity. On the contrary, Miranda and Ga point to a DENR-led, large-scale logging bust in June that resulted in the seizure of roughly $288,392 in logs and an investigation of five mayors from the Caraga region who were allegedly complicit in the crime. During an interview with the Inquirer News, Miranda suggested Otero's allegations could be politically motivated since Otero ran for governor of Agusan del Sur in the province's last election and lost.
In the report, Otero recommended the transfer of Romeo Villalobos, a senior police inspector in the province Agusan del Sur, since he is the son-in-law of Victoria Plaza, who Otero described as "deeply involved in illegal logging." Otero also recommended the transfer of police inspector Bill Acapulco for his involvement with Salmiar Mondejar, who is the mayor of Veruela, a city in south Agusan del Sur, and "a key player in the illegal logging trade."
Otero's report also said that residents and officials in Agusan del Sur tolerate the illegal logging operations since there is no alternative source of livelihood in the province.
