26/11/2025
Police nab six wanted persons, illegal loggers in Mindoro and Palawan crackdown
CABANATUAN — Police in the MIMAROPA region arrested six suspects in coordinated operations on Monday as authorities intensified their campaign against wanted fugitives and illegal logging, with Mindoro emerging as a focal point of the enforcement drive.
The arrests, carried out by units from Bansud and Lucena in Oriental Mindoro and officers in Occidental Mindoro and Palawan, targeted one of Lucena City's three most wanted persons and five individuals accused of timber smuggling.
In Oriental Mindoro, a 55-year-old suspect identified as "Jimmy" was apprehended in Barangay Poblacion, Bansud following a joint operation by Bansud and Lucena police. He ranks third on Lucena's most-wanted list and faces charges under the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act (Republic Act 9262), which penalizes abuse and violence against women and children. His recommended bail was set at ₱108,000.
A second suspect, 64-year-old "Benzali," was arrested for violating the Chainsaw Act, a law prohibiting the unauthorized use of chainsaws for timber extraction and designed to combat illegal logging activities.
The police operation expanded to **Mindoro's western coast and Palawan**, where anti-illegal logging teams conducted three separate interdiction operations overnight. Officers intercepted a 38-year-old suspect known as "Erwin" near midnight in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro while transporting 111.66 board feet of undocumented Lawaan wood valued at ₱6,699.
Hours later in Roxas, Palawan, combined police and Department of Environment and Natural Resources personnel arrested two men, "Rolly" and "Dominador," both hauling approximately 200.7 board feet of Ipil wood worth ₱30,105 without required permits. Officers also seized a motorbanca and related equipment.
All suspects arrested in the logging operations face charges under Presidential Decree 705, the Revised Forestry Code that prohibits unauthorized cutting, transporting, and trading of forest products without government permits. Violators can face imprisonment and substantial fines.
All six suspects remain in police custody pending court appearances.