Aklan police arrest 314 violators of environmental laws

By Edson Bañares

KALIBO, Aklan (PIA) — The Aklan Police Provincial Office (APPO) arrested a total of 314 people in the province of Aklan for violating Presidential Decree No. 705, or the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines, and Republic Act No. 8048, or the Coconut Preservation Act of 1995, for the period January to July 2026.

APPO Information Office Chief PMaj. Aubrey R. Ayon said that the operations conducted during the period resulted in the confiscation and recovery of 60,654.41 board feet of lumber and 396 sacks of charcoal, all valued at ₱ 2,359,521.73.

APPO data showed that from January to June 2026, a total of 655 operations were conducted to implement environmental laws in the province.

Of these, 306 were law enforcement operations, while 349 operations recovered abandoned forest products.

Ayon added that community participation, cooperation, and reporting are among the main reasons for APPO’s success in its law enforcement efforts.

She also said that information dissemination to the communities and close collaboration with the local government units and the respective municipal police stations also played a vital role in the campaign.

“Tigilan na natin yung pag-engage sa illegal activities, illegal logging, pagputol ng mga kahoy, pagbebenta ng mga walang permit. Humihingi kami ng patuloy na partisipasyon, kooperasyon, at huwag silang mag-atubili sa pag-report sa mga police stations natin,” Ayon said.

On August 3, the Police Regional Office 6 recognized APPO for its outstanding environmental law enforcement efforts. (AGP/EJB/PIA Aklan)