Vehicular accident exposes suspected illegally cut lumbers in Bulacan

By Ramon Efren R. Lazaro

CAMP ALEJO SANTOS, Bulacan --Speculations of unhampered illegal logging operations in Bulacan were raised after illegally cut lumbers were confiscated in Santa Maria town.

            Report reaching Senior Supt. Fernando Mendez Jr., provincial police director of Bulacan, said a Mitsubishi Fuso Aluminum closed van with license plate number UTU-491 loaded with 51 pieces of illegally sawn lumbers with an approximate volume of 1,204 board feet was accidentally discovered when it met an accident in Santa Maria town.

Investigation conducted by the personnel of Sta. Maria police station showed that the van accidentally bumped a concrete fence located along Macaiban Street in Barangay Tumana Friday early morning.

Supt. Lailene Amparo, Santa Maria police chief, identified the driver of the van as Robert Uy 66 years old and a resident of 610 Raja Bago Street , Tondo, Manila , and has no pertinent document for his lumber cargo.

Amparo immediately coordinated with Alex Esber and Roderick Vertudes from the Bulacan environmental and natural resources office for assistance in the investigation concerning the suspected illegal lumbers.

Environmentalists believed that the illegally sawn lumbers were poached from either the Ipo or Angat watershed areas.

The suspect is currently detained in Santa Maria police station and the van and its cargo is temporarily under the custody of the local police.

150,000 Bulakeños to receive free PhilHealth

MALOLOS CITY- Guaranteed health benefits await thousands of Bulakeños after Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado announced that 150,000 sponsored PhilHealth Cards will be given to beneficiaries wherein 40,000 of them will be sponsored by the Provincial Government of Bulacan (PGB), another 40,000 will come from the local government units and 70,000 will be sponsored by the national government.

This was confirmed after the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the PGB headed by Gov. Alvarado and PhilHealth headed by President and CEO Dr. Eduardo Banzon in providing quality and attainable health services for Bulekeños.

“Isang katotohanan na ang kalusugan ay kayamanan kaya naman sa mga hindi inaasahang pagkakataon ng pagkakasakit, upang lapatan ng pangmatagalang tulong pangkalusugan, ito po ang inaalok natin sa ating mga kalalawigan lalo na sa mga walang kakayahan. We should make the health care system more affordable and more accessible,” said Alvarado.

According to PhilHealth Regional Vice President Rodolfo Balog, 2,133,990 or 75 percent

of the total population of Bulacan are registered PhilHealth members who currently enjoy its benefits. These include members from different categories such as employed, OFW, sponsored, individually paying and lifetime.

Some of the benefits that a member can avail from PhilHealth are discounted room rates, medicine, and surgery.

Dr. Banzon on the other hand encouraged those who are enrolled in the sponsored category but are now capable of paying their own contributions to give their slot of sponsorship to others.

“Importante sa ating bayan ang universal health care, ‘yung access sa quality care. Pero hindi natin kayang i-enroll ang lahat ng Pilipino mula sa nasyunal kaya naman mahalaga ang gampanin ng mga lokal na pamahalaan, para sa mga mahihirap nating kababayan at para naman sa mga kaya, tulungan n’yo po kaming hikayatin sila na maging miyembro din ng PhilHealth, ito naman po ay para sa atin,” explained Banzon.

PhilHealth also donated 2.7 million capitation fund for the improvement of rural health units and purchasing of medicines.

Also present in the said event were PhilHealth Branch Manager Dr. Roberto Reyes, Leo Liwanag of PhilHealth Malolos, Zenette dela Vergas of PhilHealth Sta. Maria, mayors and vice mayors, municipal health officers, department heads of the PGB, and volunteer workers in the province.