Smuggling charges readied vs Army captain

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines – The Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) will file administrative charges against a military officer and his men suspected of smuggling undocumented lumber from Alamada town using two military trucks.

“We are now wrapping up our investigation on the case,” 6th ID spokesman and inspector general Col. Dickson Hermoso announced Thursday over Catholic station dxMS in Cotabato City.

Alamada policemen intercepted last week Capt. Sarcon Anggui and his men from the 7th Infantry Battalion riding military trucks loaded with undocumented lumber en route to Midsayap town.

A subordinate of Anggui, Cpl. Uting Guiabel, was shot in the leg by one of the policemen who flagged them down for refusing to yield.

The Alamada police seized the two Army trucks, but eventually released them to the 6th ID after the turnover of the illegal forest products to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“The 6th ID has actively been advocating for the protection of the environment and the wise utilization of natural resources. The division will not tolerate any activity of any member that runs counter to that advocacy,” Hermoso said.