Uprooting and conserving trees

EDITORIAL

Following the uproar of Baguio residents over the uprooting of around 200 trees at the SM compound along Session Road, the  announcement of Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan that all forest and watershed areas in the proposed Comprehensive Land Use Plan of the city is being taken with a grain of salt, considering that without trees, the summer capital would just be like any other city of the country. 

According to the mayor, this was the reason why the city has been fighting to reclaim the parcels of lots at the various forest reserves which have been issued Certificates of Ancestral Land Title (CALTs) by the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) particularly at the Forbes Park, Wright Park and Botanical Garden.

He said it was also the reason why he had been calling for vigilance in protecting forest reservations and public lands against bogus land claims and titles.

He said that while the city government is doing its best to protect the said supposed reservations, support and vigilance from the public is necessary to rally authorities into acting in favor of the city in its on-gong legal battle to recover said forest reservations and retain them as such.

The city has a pending petition through the Office of the Solicitor General with the Court of Appeals for the cancellation of the CALTs issued over parcels of land within said reservations and of titles covering prime pieces of property which were subdivided and eventually expanded by several hectares in Pacdal and Dontogan barangays.

The preservation of the existing watersheds, forest reservations, parks and other areas supported by Presidential Proclamations and other laws and setting of Environment Development Controls has been included one of the four “major spatial strategies” highlighted in the proposed CLUP. 

The others include the decongestion of the Central Business District through the provision of growth nodes along strategic locations in the City and the designation of additional areas for institutional purposes that support the city’s role as an education center north of Manila.

The mayor said the proposed CLUP will be returned to the city council by the City Development Council for approval.

He said the recommendations and inputs gathered from the multi-sectoral consultations conducted by the council committee on urban planning, lands and housing headed by Councilor IsabeloCosalan Jr. for the said CLUP had been incorporated.

The revisions and adjustments were undertaken by the city planning and development office under officer-in-charge Evelyn Cayat which serves as CDC secretariat.

The outputs were culled from consultations with the various sectors namely the National Economic and Development Authority Cordillera; the academe; the BLISTT; trade and industry; tourism; education; public safety and protection; social welfare services; health; infrastructure and utilities; housing and indigenous groups.

            

The CLUP serves as the City’s “blueprint for our City’s physical and economic development toward a safer and healthier environment,” according to the mayor.

            

The new CLUP’s updates also center on the allowed uses within the different zones, building heights and the provision of a land use map which specifies the land use allocation of the various zones namely residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and utilities zones. Meanwhile, addressing the ancestral land problem of the city is still a sticky question. Another concern -- will there be no more massive tree-cutting?