Santiago identifies RP's 'big-time illegal loggers'.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Christine O. Avenda[currency]o

CALLING for death to illegal loggers, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago yesterday named several alleged culprits, including a Quezon mayor, a businessman with ties to a congressman who is in the newspaper business, and a proteg of a former secretary for special concerns of the present administration.

In a privilege speech, Santiago also named 43 incumbent and former governors who, she said, were responsible for illegal logging in 25 provinces.

She later told reporters that the list had come from a mix of sources, including her nephew, Environment Secretary Michael Defensor, and her own informants.

The senator said in her speech that the death penalty for illegal loggers and possibly their political patrons was the "final solution" to the crime of illegal logging.

She made the call after reminding her colleagues about the high death toll from the flooding and landslides that hit Aurora, Quezon, Nueva Ecija and other provinces late last year.