The greening of Metro Manila

One of the pleasant memories that I have of the pre-war days were the acacia trees that lined both sides of most streets. Now many people with good intentions are trying to substitute the flame tree for these acacia trees. The flame tree is unquestionably a beautiful tree when it is in bloom. But that is only for a few weeks. The rest of the time, it is not as attractive as the acacia tree.                             

It is my dream to, one day, see Metro Manila into a garden metropolis. We are now in our mid-eighties and it does not take much to see that I will not live long enough to realize that dream. But I still want this to happen for the benefit of my children, grandchildren and of course, the entire future generation.

Our cities are faced with the worsening problem of pollution that is caused by heavy traffic. To date, the only answer to this problem is to plant trees. Sad to say, no city in Metro Manila has gone into a program of greening their respective cities. As we said earlier, trees will definitely enhance the cities that make up Metro Manila. In Ayala Avenue, Makati, for instance, there is an aisle in the middle of the streets that is almost totally vacant. We hope to see the day that Makati City Hall turns that sector into a miniature forest. We do not want to be repetitive but it will first beautify the area; second, it will help bring down pollution.

We note that Bambi Harper, Intramuros Administration head, has scheduled the planting of flame trees at the Plaza Roma (formerly Plaza Mayor) fronting the Manila Cathedral and at the Maestranza Park beside the Pasig River. Again, maybe planting acacia trees would be better. Before this, we were saddened to see 29 age-old mahogany and rosewood trees at the Plaza Roma that were mercilessly cut down against Harper’s instruction that the trees must be balled and moved to provide a better view of the Cathedral. As part of Bambi Harper’s plan to re-launch Intramuros as a “new tourist destination”, we strongly suggest incorporating the “greening” plan for the historic Walled City.    

Maybe trees can be planted along the path that our martyred nationalist Dr. Jose P. Rizal treaded from the prison cell of Fort Santiago when he was about to be shot.                                                                   

It is true that only God can make a tree but anyone can plant a tree. And when we plant a tree, it is something that will enhance the life of not only the present generation, but also of future generations. In short, a tree is one of the things that we can leave behind when we go to the next world.