PIA Press Release
Tuesday, January 24, 2012

DENR to donate confiscated forest products to DepEd

With an estimated value of P613,944.24, a total of 36,593.76 board feet of Mahogany, Gmelina, Bagalunga, Makaasim, Molave, Narra, Teak, Sangilo and Acacia lumber pieces, were found to be free from all liens and encumbrances with no cases filed in court, according to the DENR.

DENR-7 regional director Maximo Dichoso said DENR Secretary Ramon JP Paje instructed them to exhaust all means possible to hasten adjudication of cases of illegally sourced and transported forest products in line with the present direction to donate them to the DepEd.

“Secretary Paje has ordered that all confiscated logs by the DENR without court cases will now be turned over to the Department of Education (DepEd) as one of his priority or flagship programs,” Dichoso added.

Most of these forest products were seized due to lack of necessary documents and requirements during transport, Dichoso explained.

The logs were deposited at the Community Environment and Natural Resources Offices (CENRO) in Tagbilaran City in Bohol, in Pamplona and in Ayungon, Negros Oriental.

The DepEd will use these donated lumber for the construction of various public school buildings or the manufacture of office fixtures, desks and tables.

According to the Deed of Donation, a certificate of completion of any DepEd project, signed by the Project Engineer supported with photographs and an itemization of forest products used in the project will be submitted to DENR.

A Commission on Audit (COA) auditor will be invited to witness the turnover for documentation and proper accounting purposes.

“A continuous inventory of seized forest products has been conducted to determine which are up for donation so that these could be used as construction materials for school buildings, desks and tables,” Dichoso concluded. (mbcn/hfg/DENR/PIA7)