Cagayan de Oro City – In pursuit of stopping the prevalent destruction of natural resources in Northern Mindanao, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Region 10 (DENR 10) through the leadership of Regional Executive Director (RED) Henry A. Adornado apprehended illegal forest products and heavy equipment during the conduct of monitoring and investigation on the alleged illegal forest destruction along the Iponan River on December 4, 2023 in Barangay Tumpagon, Cagayan de Oro City and Barangay Cauyunan, Opol, Misamis Oriental.

Uprooted trees were discovered during the monitoring and investigation of the alleged illegal forest and river destruction along the Iponan River on December 4, 2023 in Barangay Tumpagon, Cagayan de Oro City.

Three units of Backhoes are being abandoned within the creek/small tributary of the Iponan River, already part of Barangay Cauyonan, Opol, Misamis Oriental.

The joint operation team (Team) was spearheaded by DENR 10 Assistant Regional Director for Technical Services (ARD-TS) Ronald D. Gadot, Sr.. The Team is composed of personnel from the DENR 10 - Enforcement, technical personnel from the PENRO Misamis Oriental, and CENRO Initao in coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group, Cagayan de Oro City Station.

Upon arrival in the vicinity of the target area, the Team quickly secured the same and discovered that approximately 1.94 hectares of land thereof were damaged due to excavation. It was also revealed that the backhoe units have encroached on the riverbank and its easement and navigated in small creeks, and water tributaries causing significant obstruction and visible damage to the banks of the tributaries as observed by the Team.

The successful operation resulted in the apprehension of 56 pieces of uprooted logs (Falcata, Santol, Malabulak, and African Tulip species) with a combined volume of 17.011 cubic meters with an estimated value of PHP 42,535.00 and abandoned three (3) backhoe excavators with an estimated value of PHP 21 million.

The seized backhoe excavators were left in the temporary custody of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Special Forces in Barangay Tumpagon, Cagayan de Oro City while the 56 uprooted forest products were left behind in the vicinity due to the inaccessibility of the area and the absence of the specialized equipment/vehicles to haul the forest products.

ARD Gadot said the office immediately issued an apprehension receipt under Presidential Decree (PD) 705, as amended, and DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 1997 – 32. He added a further investigation is being conducted by DENR 10 and a proper filing of charges to still-at-large violators thereafter.

ARD Gadot recommended the immediate conduct of Administrative Adjudication proceedings per DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 1997 - 32 and further intensify patrol and surveillance in the upstream areas, particularly in Barangay Cauyunan in the Municipality of Opol, Misamis Oriental, and other areas along the boundaries of Iligan City.

Furthermore, RED Henry Adornado instructed the PENRO and CENRO concerned to identify strategic locations to establish new monitoring stations to deter would-be violators in the future. He also sought the assistance of the Department of Interior and Local Government in the region to remind Local Government Units of their roles in the protection of the environment within their jurisdiction as embedded under the local government code of 1991.

The discovery of the illegal activities along the Iponan River was made using available Google images and was validated using drone technologies.

The successful operation is a significant victory in the ongoing fight of the Department against any illegal environmental activities with devastating consequences to the environment and local communities, he added.