THREE Chinese nationals accused of engaging in the illegal sale and distribution of chainsaws in Metro Manila were arrested by operatives of the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in a sting in Valenzuela City last Tuesday, PNP-CIDG director, Major General Nicolas D. Torre III said yesterday.

In a report to PNP chief, General Rommel Francisco D. Marbil, the official said a total of 341 chainsaws and 1,244 units of guide bars worth at least P3.6 million were confiscated during the operation.

Maj. Gen. Torre said that officers from the CIDG Northern District Field Unit and the Environmental Law Enforcement and Protection Service and Enforcement Division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources conducted the sting, which targets the owners and employees of Agricultural Machinery Trading in Valenzuela City.

Three Filipino employees of the establishment were also arrested during the operation after they were caught in the act of selling the chainsaws without DENR permit.

Maj. Gen. Torre said that they are going after establishments engaged in the manufacture, sale and distribution of chainsaws in the country amid their support to the government’s aggressive forest protection program which focuses on eliminating illegal logging and other forms of forest destruction being facilitated with the use of chainsaws.

The arrested suspects were charged with violation of Republic Act 9175 or the Chainsaw Act of 2002 which penalizes the act of selling, purchasing, re-selling, transferring, distributing or possessing a chainsaw without a proper permit and required registration from the DENR.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon