POLICE arrested five persons for illegal transport of charcoal at a checkpoint in Penaranda, Nueva Ecija on Wedneday.
A report to Police Regional Office 3 director Brig. Gen. Jose Hidalgo Jr. identified the arrested suspects as truck driver Crispin Pajarillaga, and his companions Sherwin Samson, Bobby Rence Melgar, annalias “John Rey,” and Darwin Bacani, all residents of Gen. Tinio, Nueva Ecija.
Operatives of the Nueva Ecija PNP were manning a checkpoint in Bgy. Poblacion, Peñaranda and flagged down the truck being driven by Pajarillaga.
Upon inspection, policemen found the vehicle was loaded with 362 sacks of charcoal. When lawmen asked for documents of the haul, which is estimated to be worth at least P26,700.
When asked, the suspects failed to show pertinent documents for the charcoal that resulted in the arrest and the confiscation of the charcoal.
The suspects’ truck was impounded by the police.
Police said the suspects will be charged with violation of Presidential Decree 705 or the Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines.
” May this serve as a stern warning to the public against wanton cutting down of trees, transporting of firewood, possession and selling of charcoal without the requisite permits,” Hidalgo said.
