‘Dumb if you do, dumb if you don’t’

Of course, it’s not the actual phrase.

But the context of this editorial liberty or rephrasing is simply to point out that nowadays, you can’t please everybody, everybody has an opinion and someone will either criticize you or feel obligated to respond to whatever you express.

Take, for instance, the “tree cutting incident” where certain individuals or groups have gone up against the DENR and San Miguel Corporation in an effort to prevent the DENR and the expressway developers from doing what is needed to enhance infrastructure and engineering.

For the sake of impartiality, all I can say is that everybody is “right,” everybody means well and has good intentions. I pity the poor guy who has to make the judicial, political and moral decision on the case.

For starters, the court will have to determine if the complainant/s have a legal personality, cause and therefore a persona relevant to the complaint they are filing.

Are they simply “tree huggers,” perpetually complaining activists or have they consistently promoted and campaigned for protection of trees, planting of trees and urban greenery? In other words, what is their track record?

On the other side, the court has to determine the basis of the DENR decision to permit selective tree cutting, the history and design of the project as well as economic and social impacts for delaying or putting the project on hold because the ultimate client is the Republic of the Philippines.

I will leave the whole headache to the courts, but I can’t resist the temptation to point out certain things we do wrong about trees, tree planting and tree cutting. The recent protest against tree cutting is not new.

Environmentalists, social activists have repeatedly called out government on such activities because it does take a decade or two to “grow” a tree. But I have to ask, why do we hear about protests and court cases to prevent tree cutting but rarely about a sustained long-term urban tree planting program?

Urban greening has become an established, highly beneficial practice in many countries around the world marked by lower temperatures and benefits to mental health. But in the Philippines no one is pushing hard for it – not in policy, not by law.

This state of affairs is a classic example of the old adage, “Losing sight of the forest for the trees” or not being able to see the forest beyond the trees in front of you.

There is so much space in and around Metro Manila that are practically “treeless.” Many sidewalks and urban environments would be transformed into green zones if tree lovers spent an equal amount of time and money planting trees as going to court.

I honestly have not heard of information or educational campaigns about trees, planting trees, endemic or invasive trees, urban-appropriate types of trees, etc., culture and nurture from seed to trees.

There was a time when you could go to the Seedling Bank in Quezon City to ask for or buy seedlings for planting. But they were shut down or shelved. The government, it seems, always sends off “corporate volunteers” to plant trees or seedlings in the hills or “boondocks” just outside Metro Manila.

In defense of the DENR, they do such a good job of strictly enforcing the No Permit/No Cutting of trees policy. But now the dangerous and excessively tall coconuts planted 30 or 40 years ago can’t be felled to prevent coconuts from killing passersby.

It is also ironic that San Miguel Corporation is being dragged to court for legally approved tree cutting, not to mention the fact that SMC and affiliates have led, funded and deployed an army of tree planting volunteers over the years.

Given their track record in clearing clogged and silted rivers while pushing the country’s progress, SMC deserves respect or at least an opportunity for dialogue and cooperation with people genuinely concerned for the environment.

I dare say that there is a prevailing ignorance or aversion to trees, especially in Metro Manila. Unlike Imelda Marcos who was governor of Metro Manila and promoted tree planting, some succeeding governors disliked, even actively opposed, tree planting in Metro Manila.

One MMDA chairman admitted to me that he did not support tree planting because trees shed leaves that clog water drains and canals.

Trees also spread roots that often crack sidewalks and roads because they were planted wrong. I knew of street sweepers who skinned the bark off trees, intentionally killing them.

I once wanted to start a tree planting project where I lived but several residents were not supportive because they did not want trees to be used as ladders by “akyat bahay” gangs.

Needless to say, electric companies, cable companies, etc. have been dubbed as “tree killers” for regularly “trimming” or pruning trees or because power lines fry treetops. The issue could have easily been addressed by setting boundaries and locations if not height for power lines.

Another reason trees became less popular among Filipinos is because landscape architects and designers were enamored by foreign scenes such as “Miami Vice” palm trees, etc. Fruit trees were replaced by “view trees.”

And just like the barren fig tree in the Bible, our common fruit trees disappeared from the streets and sidewalks, taking with them our childhood memories. “What you sow, you shall reap.”

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