THE House of Representatives has passed on third and final reading a proposed law imposing life imprisonment to people engaged in illegal logging.

Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said the measure would strengthen government’s campaign against illegal loggers which is now causing serious flooding in the country, recently in Northern Mindanao.

“The passage of the measure is very timely and would surely help government’s renewed program to run after illegal loggers. This will provide protection and rehabilitation of our forests and its sustainable management,” said Angara, chairman of the House committee on higher and technical education.

Angara co-authored House Bill (HB) No. 5485 by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.

Under the proposed Sustainable Forest Management Act of 2011, harvesting, gathering or collecting timber or other forest products from any forestland with a market value of more than P500,000 and without authority from the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will be declared illegal and punishable with life imprisonment.

The bill imposes life imprisonment against any person who shall buy logs, flitches and lumber from economic saboteurs and use them in government infrastructure projects.

People who illegally acquired forest products with a market value of less than P500,000 shall be punished with imprisonment ranging from prision mayor minimum period to reclusion temporal minimum period and a fine equivalent to 10 times the value of the forest product, the measure said

Likewise, persons who are guilty of unlawful occupation of forestlands, illegal conversation of municipal parks, communal forests and tree parks, falsification of reports, inventory scaling and forest survey, unlawful operation of sawmills, unlawful possession of devices used by forest officers, unauthorized introduction of logging tools and equipment inside forestlands, and non-payment of forest charges will get a prison term of 12 years and a fine of not more than P500,000.