Journey to 256 trees trillion launched

CEBU, Philippines — The journey to planting 256,000 trees, in honor of the number of voters that Mayor Nestor Archival Sr. garnered during the midterm elections, officially began with a tree-planting activity yesterday.

Project head John Jeoffrey Dabatos Jr. said, in an interview, that what transpired yesterday was just the official launch, which also marked the beginning of International Mangrove Conservation Day.

The event was participated in by various organizations that expressed support for the initiative and its purpose.

In a separate interview, Archival admitted that he was surprised by the turnout at the event. He said the strong attendance underscored the importance of tree planting.

“I think every body understands nga ang kahoy, igsuon nato, so ang kahoy ang gahatag nato og oxygen, nga maoy atong gamiton para mabuhi,” said Archival.

He added that this initiative could also help alleviate the problem of flooding, which is among the city’s perennial concerns.

As of yesterday, participants had planted mangroves around the South Road Properties (SRP) channel.

Archival further said that this is also a service to the next generation.

“Mao ng nagpasalamat gyud ko sa mga organizations nga maoy nagtabang nato,” said Archival.

As of yesterday, Archival said there were already at least 100 organizations that had committed their intent to support the project.

To address issues of deforestation in Cebu City, Councilor Joel Garganera had pushed for legislative measures requiring developers to integrate existing trees into their site development plans.

In a statement to The Freeman, Garganera, chairman of the Committee on Environment of the City Council, recalled that last year, the Cebu City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) echoed concerns about deforestation in the city due to various factors. He named one such factor as climate change, brought about by increased carbon emissions and the El Niño phenomenon.

Aside from this, Garganera further cited another contributing factor: the construction of illegal infrastructures in the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL), allegedly without the city’s knowledge.

According to Garganera, to address these issues, the CPDO—through Architect Yumi Espina, Architect Annie Cuizon, and the rest of the CPDO head staff—fast-tracked the final submission of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP).

The CLUP, he added, clearly identified and regulated areas in the CCPL where infrastructures should not have been allowed.

“This allows us a better enforcement mechanism on this matter, though the main responsibility to enforce it should have been with the CCPL Board,” said Garganera.

Garganera further explained that the same CLUP included a section on climate change adaptation aimed at reducing carbon emissions, making the measure more crucial in preventing further deforestation in the city.

In the council, Garganera said they are now strictly regulating tree-cutting applications. As Chairman of the Committee on Environment, he has lobbied for a measure to regulate tree-cutting in Cebu City. (CEBU NEWS)