Council to DENR: Save remaining trees

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Council has requested the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 “to start the urgent process of earth-balling” to save the remaining trees at the center island of Sergio Osmeña Boulevard.

This, as it appealed “to the sense of social responsibility of WT Construction Inc. and the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) to comply already with the DENR requirement” of planting 100 seedlings.  This way, DENR -7 would already lift its cease and desist order that bars the moving of the remaining trees. 

In a privilege speech yesterday, City Councilor Ma. Nida Cabrera, who heads the council committee on environment, raised to colleagues the “deplorable condition of the remaining trees in the said road.”

 “I already observed the problem days ago. Indeed, after an inspection conducted by my staff, I would dare say that if the remaining trees at the center island of S. Osmeña Road are left in their current condition, they will surely perish,” she said.

“Trees need water to seep in and nourish its roots in order to survive. But we have trees along that cemented pavement in S. Osmeña whose base or ground are not sufficiently left open so it (tree) can grow normally,” she added.

Cebu City Parks Administrator Arlie Gesta said there are over 20 trees that are still at the center island of S. Osmeña Boulevard.

Vanished trees

April last year, Cabrera also delivered a privilege speech expressing outrage and disappointment after 79 trees in the center island of the said road vanished.

The loss, blamed on DPWH-7 and the contractor, prompted DENR to issue a CDO on DPWH-7’s earth-balling activities and to sue the agency along with WT Construction Inc.

The Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office, however, dismissed the complaint.  DENR, though, did not lift the earth-balling ban against the WT Construction Inc. which is accused of uprooting the trees.

Yesterday, Cabrera also expressed her disappointment on the disappearance of the trees almost a year ago, as no one has been punished or made accountable yet.

“Having the crime… unprosecuted, we now have another crime in our midst, so to speak; a crime of omission for the remaining trees in S. Osmeña Road, neglected, almost abandoned, left to survive in the urban jungle, stifled by concrete in its very roots,” she said, referring to the remaining trees.

While the CDO has not been lifted yet, Cabrera asked the Cebu City Parks and Playgrounds Commission to water the remaining trees.

As requested by Cabrera, the City Council appealed for DENR-7 to “start the urgent process of earth-balling trees…, at the expense of WT Construction and DPWH” by already lifting the CDO it issued. The CDO prevents DPWH and WT from saving the remaining trees.

Cognizant of the conditions DENR imposed, the council also asked that DPWH and WT already comply “by planting 100 seedlings for each of the 79 missing trees,” or a total of 7,900 seedlings.

In a separate interview, however, DENR-7 Spokesperson Eddie Llamedo reiterated that the replacement trees should be planted and nurtured first as it was the condition set before the CDO could be lifted.

“The Department of Public Works and Highways 7 and the Cebu City Government should look into very seriously on the replacement issue first as this has been agreed in September 2014….  Instead of blaming the trees on possible vehicular accidents, Cebu City should help DENR in compelling DPWH in hastening or expediting the replacement,” Llamedo said.

He was referring to the technical meeting of DPWH, DENR, WT, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, and the Cebu City Community Environment and Natural Resources Office when the CD was discussed following the loss of the 79 trees.

“During that meeting, it was agreed that DPWH will initiate the tree planting. The earth-balling permit holder is DPWH and not WT. So they should be the one to accomplish the conditions set prior to the lifting of the CDO,” Llamedo said.

Waiting game

DPWH-7 Spokesperson Marie Nillama, on the other hand, said their agency has been waiting for the go signal from DENR for them to already conduct their replacement tree planting.

“We have always been willing to plant the tree replacement. We have no problem with that. We are just waiting for the go signal from DENR. We cannot proceed without the go signal because of the CDO,” Nillama said.

She also attributed the delay in the planting of replacement trees to the case DENR filed against WT for the removal of the 79 trees without any special tree-cutting permit pending before the court.

Llamedo, though, said their go signal is not needed for DPWH to start planting the replacement trees and that this has been made clear already during their September 2014 meeting.

“No need for go signal. It was already agreed. It’s been almost a year and they have not complied with the condition. We do not know what’s taking it too long. After the completion of the planting of mangrove propagules, then we can lift the CDO already,” Llamedo said.

Balili property

The mangrove planting, as agreed by all concerned parties, will be done at the Balili property in the City of Naga. The Cebu PENRO has even pledged to provide 8,000 mangrove propagules for this purpose.

This was the condition DENR-7 set for the lifting of the CDO issued to DPWH-7 last April 4, 2014. The number of replacement trees was computed using the 1:100 ratio, or 100 trees for every single tree removed from the road’s center island.

DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Isabelo R. Montejo’s April 15, 2014 letter to DPWH-7 Director Ador G. Canlas stated that “a commitment should be executed by DPWH 7 to maintain these trees for a maximum period of three years to ensure a 100 percent survival rate.”

Cabrera said once the remaining trees are earth-balled, they would be transferred to Fuente Osmeña Rotunda and to Plaza Independencia.

WT is currently rehabilitating S. Osmeña Boulevard and would be able to finish the project by April yet. Nillama said the project is already “85 percent completed” as of February 25.

Earlier, Mayor Michael Rama declared that the whole stretch will not be open for vehicular access if the remaining trees will not be earth-balled.

Llamedo, though, said that attributing vehicular accidents to the remaining trees “blocking” the center of the road is “totally unfair if not absurd.”

“According to police records, traffic accidents are caused mainly by driver’s error (28 percent, vehicle’s mechanical defects (16 percent, over-speeding (13 percent), and self accident (7 percent),” he said.

“Based on statistics from the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group, the top causes of road accidents in the country are drunk driving, over-speeding, mechanical malfunctions, lost brakes, overtaking, abrupt maneuvers, bad turns and reverse. It did not mention the presence of trees along a center island or along the side of the road,” he added. —/RHM (FREEMAN)