POLICE seized 31 exotic birds worth an estimated ₱1.38 million from a van at a checkpoint in Toril District, Davao City, on Oct. 19 after handlers failed to present the permits required to transport the wildlife, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Davao Region said.
The birds included 15 sulfur-crested cockatoos, one of which was dead, and 16 live Eclectus parrots — eight green males and eight red females.
Personnel from the Davao City Police Office’s Police Station 19-Eden, with technical and legal assistance from the DENR’s Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) Davao City, stopped the van at a checkpoint in Purok 2, Sitio Uguis, Barangay Eden.
In a social media post, the DENR said the handlers could not present a wildlife registration certificate or the required transport permits.
The agency valued the cockatoos at ₱900,000 and the Eclectus parrots at ₱480,000.
Both species are listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international trade in species that could become threatened if trade goes unchecked.
Authorities turned over the 30 surviving birds to the Davao Crocodile Park in Ma-a for care and assessment. They documented the dead cockatoo as evidence before arranging for its burial. Cenro Davao City took custody of the van.
Wildlife law
The handlers could face charges under Section 27(f), (h) and (i) of Republic Act 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, which prohibits unauthorized wildlife collection, possession, transport and trade, as well as the maltreatment of wildlife.
The DENR commended Police Station 19-Eden for intercepting the shipment and said it would continue working with law enforcement agencies to curb illegal wildlife trafficking.
More birds seized in GenSan
A day after the Davao City seizure, authorities confiscated 60 undocumented wild birds in an entrapment operation in Barangay Bula, General Santos City, on Oct. 20, the DENR Soccsksargen said in a social media post.
The birds included 33 Eclectus parrots, two sulfur-crested cockatoos, and 25 Western crowned pigeons.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 12 and Police Station 6 of the General Santos City Police Office conducted the operation in coordination with DENR-Cenro General Santos City.
Authorities subjected the birds to avian influenza surveillance on Oct. 21. They will transfer the birds to a DENR wildlife rescue center once cleared.
Nationwide crackdown
From January to August 2026, the DENR apprehended 55 suspected illegal wildlife traders and seized 394 animals in 71 operations nationwide, the agency earlier reported.
Birds accounted for more than half of the animals seized. In the Visayas and Mindanao, confiscated birds included parrots such as cockatoos, cockatiels and macaws.
In Davao del Norte, DENR-Cenro Panabo and the Philippine National Police Maritime Group seized 29 animals worth an estimated ₱71,350 in a series of entrapment operations during the same period. The animals included pythons, lovebirds, cockatiels, and African spurred tortoises.
The DENR urged the public to report suspected illegal wildlife trade through the social media accounts of the nearest DENR regional office, by email, or through the 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Hotline. GRS