‘Centuries-old’ logs found in Albay

By Maricar Brizuela Philippine Daily Inquirer THE HISTORIC Sula Channel in Bacacay town in Albay has more to brag about than having been the center of the lucrative Spanish galleon trade in Bicol and providing safe haven for the ancient ships during typhoons. Its natural land and sea wonders, along with those of Barangay Sula, 7 kilometers from the town proper and 20 km northeast of the capital city of Legazpi, have been drawing tourists, investors and even enterprising people. On Nov. 23 last year, however, authorities discovered an activity in the village that had persistently extracted its resources from its bosom for the past five years. Policemen of Sto. Domingo town and a forest ranger of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) seized a 22-wheel truck trailer carrying square old logs or timber and lumber flitches. A man claiming to be the owner failed to show transport documents. The logs were dug up in a private property in Sitio Pecadero. Log extraction Sula barangay chair Benjamin Belbes said the extraction of logs started in 2006 during the term of his predecessor, Efren Bersabe. He said a permit was shown, signed by then Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, to extract and get the logs in Pecadero. Edmundo Lorenzo Bersabe, a cousin of the former village chief, said Valera had an agreement to get the logs with the property owners, Nina and Oscar Besta. He described the deal as “a sort of business partnership.” The logs were loaded onto a truck using a crane and moved out on a roll-on, roll-of vessel. When the Inquirer visited the site, there was a clear picture of the quarried land and the logs remaining on the ground. “When the maritime divers inspected the waters, they said there were still big logs underneath,” Belbes said. Residents claimed seeing big and old logs floating, especially during low tide, but did not show any interest in what they believe are natural wonders that should not be touched. Belbes believed that the logs “have been buried since the Spanish times and these have become hard and sturdy over the years. Many people would want to use logs like these.” No permit According to the Sto. Domingo police report, the truck trailer carrying 14 pieces of square old logs and lumber with a total volume of 16.47 cubic meters was intercepted due to the lack of a permit to transport. Inspector Edgar Panti, Bacacay police chief, said forest ranger Renato Abaroa requested police assistance to go after the vehicle carrying the forest products. “We did not have any idea of the activity in Sitio Pecadero until we were tapped by the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro),” Panti said. Cenro Ricardo Ramos Jr. said his office had learned about the movement when Vizmade International Trading Corp. (VITC), through its vice president Elmer Valera, notified its office of a plan to transport 14 recovered, old, buried and sunken logs. VITC, he said, possessed a special wood recovery permit from the central office, which was duly signed by then Secretary Atienza. The permit was given after the company requested that it be allowed to dig and unearth the sunken logs in Pecadero, which were discovered after a treasure-hunting activity. DENR clearance A clearance document released by the DENR stated that the logs found along the shoreline of Pecadero had been buried from 1650 to 1950 based on carbon-dating conducted by Beta Analytic Inc., a US-based laboratory. The department cited Administrative Order No. 2000-78, which covers regulations in the recovery and disposition of abandoned logs, drifted logs, sunken logs, uprooted and fire- and typhoon-damaged trees, tree stumps, tops and branches. It, however, required VITC to secure clearance from the National Historical Commission since the recovered logs already had historical significance. According to Jerry Adviento, chief of the DENR’s Forest Management Service in Bicol, most of the logs were “really old” but no longer sturdy, except for the mapilig variety which, “even if it is exposed to the elements, achieves better quality.” “Most of the logs in Sula were recovered because of their cultural value and not for their quality,” Adviento said. Media reports said the square logs, including talisay, narra, apitong, molave and makiling, were centuries-old and used during the galleon trade. Ramos said these were cut during the late 1600s and buried underwater and under the ground. “We are talking about sunken logs and not lumber used during the galleon trade,” he said. Sunken logs, he explained, usually have low quality since they had been exposed to the elements and buried for a long time. “Exposure to the elements does not make logs strong, but I guess that despite their quality, their cultural value is very high since they had been cut and buried hundreds of years ago,” Ramos said. Replacement logs When the Cenro inspected the logs to be transported, it found that the lost ones were replaced with newly retrieved logs having different dimensions and species. “I told them that because there were new logs, a new clearance should be sought from the regional office,” Ramos said. He also disclosed that his office was in the process of clearing the newly retrieved logs so that a proper permit could be issued when it learned that Valera’s group already transported the logs from Sula to Sto. Domingo. Abaroa, after talking with brothers Elmer and Ramon Valera that night, immediately filed a report about the incident at the Sto. Domingo police office. Valera also filed a separate report stating that Abaroa harassed him and his brother and asked for money from them. The truckload of logs can still be seen covered with a thick sheet of waterproofed canvas along the main road of San Roque in Sto. Domingo. It has been placed under the custody of councilman Norman Balane of San Roque. “It is hard for us to transport the confiscated lumber because the driver of the vehicle is missing. Valera, during the eve of interception, told our forest ranger that the driver had left the vehicle with the key,” Ramos said. Three hearings about the seizure have already been conducted since December last year. Source: Philippine Daily Inquireer