5 nabbed for charcoal smuggling
CAMP OLIVAS, City of San Fernando, Pampanga – Five persons were arrested yesterday for illegal transport of charcoal at a checkpoint in Penaranda, Nueva Ecija.
In a report to Police Regional Office 3 director Brig. Gen. Jose Hidalgo Jr., the suspects were identified as truck driver Crispin Pajarillaga, and his companions Sherwin Samson, Bobby Rence Melgar, annalias “John Rey,” and Darwin Bacani, all residents of Gen. Tinio, Nueva Ecija.
Members of the Nueva Ecija police were manning a checkpoint in Bgy. Poblacion, Peñaranda and flagged down the truck being driven by Pajarillaga.
Upon inspection, policemen found the vehicle was loaded with 362 sacks of charcoal. When lawmen asked for documents of the haul, which is estimated to be worth at least P26,700, the suspects could not show any, prompting officers to arrest them, seize the charcoal and impound the truck.
The five suspects will be charged with violation of Presidential Decree 705 or the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines.
” May this serve as a stern warning to the public against wanton cutting down of trees, transporting of firewood, possession and selling of charcoal without the requisite permits,” Hidalgo said.
