Argao Mayor Denies Cutting 300 Trees

Argao town Mayor Edsel Galeos denied he ordered the cutting of more than 300 trees in a timberland in Argao, saying he only lent the heavy equipment to the workers not knowing that they actually had no permission to cut those trees.

Galeos, however, said he has a farm-to-market road project in the area, but did not know that the workers who were working for it did not ask permission from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 prior to the cutting.

The DENR-7 filed a complaint against Galeos for abuse of authority before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas following the incident. The same agency is also set to charge the mayor and the five workers for alleged violation of the Forestry Code of the Philippines.

For his part, Governor Hilario Davide III said he does not want to meddle with the issue, saying there is already an investigation on the incident.

“He’s already facing charges filed against him. Let’s just wait for the (results of the investigation),” said Davide.

Davide said he already met with Dr. Isabelo Montejo, DENR-7 regional director, and was appraised of what had happened.

Image Credit: allaboutargao.wikispaces.com