Government officials raided an illegal sawmill in Samar in the Phillippines recently and recovered around 4,000 board feet of lumber of assorted species.
However, the owners of the RCL Sawmill had fled after dismantling the sawmill equipment.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said it was sad that while the government, NGOs and others stepped up their efforts to reforest areas and conserve existing plantations, illegal loggers and timber poachers continued to destroy the forests.
