Joint operatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested four people while transporting several kilos of agarwood, the aromatic resinous part of the non-timber Aquilaria tree species.
DENR said environmental enforcers seized from the suspects almost 20 kilos of agarwood valued at P3.2 million.
The suspects, identified as Ramil Ong, Bernie Bagay, Rizal Mofar and Arjhun Gaviola, were apprehended in two separate operations conducted by the DENR’s Environmental Protection and Enforcement Task Force (EPETF) and the NBI-Environmental Crime Division in Pasig City and Cainta, Rizal last June 8.
Agarwood is one of the most expensive raw materials used in making perfumes, with a kilo in the Philippines worth at least P160,000.
“I laud the DENR and NBI enforcers for their unrelenting efforts to go after environmental criminals despite the quarantine restrictions.”
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu lauded the DENR and NBI enforcers for their unrelenting efforts to go after environmental criminals despite the quarantine restrictions and other measures imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“This clearly sends out the message that the government’s campaign against environmental offenders remains unrelenting despite a pandemic that is wreaking havoc worldwide,” Cimatu said.
The four suspects were charged with violations of Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources and Protection Act and Presidential Decree 705, otherwise known as the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines.
They are detained at the NBI detention facility in Manila while awaiting court proceedings.
“Initial investigation showed that the seized agarwood shipments were likely poached from the forests of Mindanao.”
Rogelio Demelletes Jr., a senior ecosystems management specialist and member of EPETF, said initial investigation showed that the seized agarwood were of high-grade quality and were most likely poached from the forests of Mindanao, particularly in Surigao and Agusan provinces.
Agarwood is extracted from host trees locally known as Lapnisan and Lanete, which are both included in the national list of threatened Philippine plants per DENR Administrative Order 2007-01.
According to Demelletes, a high-grade agarwood can be sold for as high as $30,000 per kilo and its trafficking has resulted in the indiscriminate cutting of Lanete and Lapnisan trees.