By Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz A Chinese national was arrested for alleged illegal possession of some 14 kilos of rare agarwood worth P2.5 million in Quezon City. Agarwood is a resin that is popular for its distinctive fragrance and is used to make incense, perfume and medicinal products Qing Nan Lin was collared last October 11 by operatives of the Philippine Operations Group on Ivory and Illegal Wildlife Trade (Task Force POGI) under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu reiterated his call to the public to sustain the effort with the information they provide against illegal wildlife trade. “We can only go from strength to strength for as long as we can rely on increasing public vigilance against environmental crimes as shown by this recent arrest,” Cimatu said. The contraband is now in the custody of the office of Task Force POGI in the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) in Quezon City. BMB senior ecosystems management specialist Rogelio Demellestes Jr. said initial investigations point to the forests of Samar or Leyte as the sources of the rare wood. “Reports also indicate that tree poachers operating in the forests of Surigao and Butuan are also sources of this priceless wood product,” Demellestes said. He added that the quality of the seized agarwood could be sold at least P180,000 a kilo. Also arrested in the sting operation were Jonathan Guzman and a certain Roberto Intes, both Filipinos. “Our partners in the NBI-ECD are now checking their database to validate the identity of Intes who we suspect to be an Indonesian,” Demellestes said. The three have been charged for violation of the Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, and Presidential Decree 705, as amended, or the Revised Philippine Forestry Code. They are presently detained and awaiting court proceedings at the Detention Facility of the National Bureau of Investigation. “The trafficking of agarwood has spawned the indiscriminate cutting of Lanete (Wrightia laniti) and Lapnisan (Aquilaria malaccensis) trees,” Demelletes said, noting that high-grade agarwood could even fetch as much as P300,000 to P350,000 a kilo. Lanete and Lapnisan are included in the national list of threatened Philippine plants and the list of wildlife species per DENR Department Administrative Order 2007-01. Agarwood resin is formed when the host tree becomes infected with a mold called Phialophora parasitica. The mold infection makes the tree produce a dark aromatic resin called aloes or aga in its heartwood. The fragrant resin is used to make incense, perfume and medicinal products particularly in the Middle East and Asia.