ILLEGALLY cut logs, logging and transportation equipment, and other forest products valued for at least P59.23 million confiscated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have been left idle and rotting, instead of being converted into additional income for the government.
This was revealed in the 2021 audit report on the DENR released last July 28 after a copy was officially submitted to the office of Secretary Ma. Antonio Yulo-Loyzaga on July 20, 2022.
Auditors tagged the DENR Regional Office 2 (Cagayan Valley) and eight Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Offices (PENROs) for improper handling of millions of confiscated hot logs and equipment.
These were identified in the report as PENROs Siquijor (P24.764 million), Misamis Occidental (P13.396 million), Negros Oriental (P9.039 million), Cagayan (P5.755 million), Negros Occidental (P2.857 million), Nueva Ecija (P1.786 million), Bataan (P1.008 million), Tarlac (P512,000), and DENR Region 2 (P112,000).
Auditors blamed the absence of a clear-cut policy on the part of the DENR regarding the management of confiscated/abandoned/seized goods inventory (CASGI), lack of adequate storage facility, and failure to conduct an inventory of recovered illegally cut timber, tools, and other forest products.
“The agency was not provided with enough and safe storage facilities to keep and preserve the confiscated assets. This condition exposed them to deterioration caused by heat, rain, termites, and other environmental elements as well as possible loss through theft,” they pointed out.
Under DENR Memorandum Order No. 36, DENR regional directors, PENROs, and Community Environment and Natural Resources Officers (CENROs) are mandated to sell or dispose all confiscated products through public auction unless they are needed by the agency for its own projects or are still needed for presentation in court as evidence.
Seized logs and equipment that are still subject of court cases may still be sold with leave from the judge to avoid loss of economic value in the event the case takes a long time to resolve.
On the other hand, DENR Administrative Order No. 97-32 made it mandatory for CENROs and PENROs to prepare a full inventory of all confiscated assets for submission to the regional officer, who in turn is required to forward them to the DENR Secretary.
“Despite the effort of the DENR in enforcing the law on anti-illegal logging, the management of Confiscated/Seized Goods was overlooked because the pieces of evidence on anti-illegal logging operations were not safeguarded,” the Commission on Audit said.
Based on the audit recommendations, the DENR said it will ask the national government for budget to construct proper storage facilities to preserve the economic value of seized forest products and equipment.
Likewise, it assured the COA that clear-cut policies would be crafted to ensure speedy disposition of the confiscated items to create additional revenue.
