Like a nocturnal thief

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

                                                            

Like thieves or common criminals who move under cover of darkness and take advantage of a chilly night, SM Baguio’s soldiers and its tree-cutting crew raided the helpless trees. They knew very well that environmentalists and those who were for the preservation of the decades-old little forest on Luneta Hill had nowhere to run to for a court TRO because the judges were out on a weekend.

At a time when Bishop Cenzon, Baguio citizens and the nation's focus was on Pope Francis, SM Baguio proceeded to massacre on January 16 an assortment of around 60 trees behind the mall where a multi-level parking area will be built.

Barring a few of SM Baguio’s supporters, like anyone else, I was stunned by the text message from a friend on that Saturday morning, and felt like I was deceived by a traitor who I thought all along would act sympathetically, in consideration of the sentiments of its host city.

I was wrong. But I learned the hard truth that when it comes to greed and materialism which were incidentally being discussed on that day by Pope Francis, no one beats SM Baguio. I was also reminded of what Mayor Domogan has been saying all along about preserving Baguio’s environment in line with the objectives of PNoy’s Baguio-Boracay Task Force. It was a glaring contrast of issues coming from the side of one single official.    

Sometime in 2012, thousands of Baguio residents and their supporters from nearby Benguet composed of students and teachers from elementary, high school and colleges, senior citizens, nuns, priests, members of the gay and lesbian community, professionals, artists and environmental groups poured out on Session Road and held street protest actions to save the trees.

A few months later, the RTC in Baguio issued a temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) against the earth-balling and transplanting of Pine and Alnus Trees. However, the same court dismissed the petitions in the same year. On December 2014, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Baguio RTC's dismissal of the cases and lifting of the TEPO, hence, clearing all legal obstacles that would stop SM from cutting down the trees.

While the trees were being killed, Pope Francis in Manila was reminding the crowd to show concern for the environment and talked about the “gravity posed by the earth’s destruction to the well-being of people”, saying further, “be concerned about what is happening to your beautiful land!”

In an attempt to pacify angry nerves and to make people feel that they also care for Baguio’s environment, SM who occupies a lot area with dubious metes and bounds claimed that in exchange for each tree that they will kill, mall managers and their employees will plant 20 or 50 tree seedlings somewhere.

That has been the government requirement given mostly to subdivision developers and people who have no other choice but to construct houses on a patch of trees. But that requirement is merely an excuse more than a remedy, considering that not even a hundred newly planted tree seedlings can effectively provide what a fully grown tree can.

I hardly cannot grasp the greed that the mall owners possess. After occupying all the public roads inside and around Luneta Hill as their own driveway and parking areas, they still want to expand their parking area. Even that portion of upper Session Road fronting the DSWD, the former Vallejo Hotel and NBI office has already been allocated as the mall’s private driveway as proven by road signs installed by the mall in cooperation with the police.

Top city officials in collaboration with SM comfortably used “on street” parking which was, in the first place, caused by the entry of the mall, as the reason why traffic was getting worse. That is why they said that a new parking lot was necessary. But that starts a vicious cycle as building parking lots will not ease the traffic but will increase the volume of cars instead.

On March 13, 2012, Philippine Daily Inquirer published an open letter by Ms. Willa Isabella Tecson (willatecson@yahoo.com), a concerned resident from Pasig. I quote parts of her letter:

For me as a city lowlander residing in Pasig, when I think of Baguio, I imagine cool weather, clean air, pine trees, lots of open spaces. This is the allure that Baguio has for me. In the past many years, due to commercialization and congestion, Baguio is losing its appeal to me and my friends as a summer vacation capital. The idea of another SM mall up there among the Pines has not added to its summer appeal. I just think of more congestion and traffic with SM up there.

Why would I drive six hours and plan a vacation in Baguio just to experience the same thing that I have here where I live? Let me put it another way: Baguio City was the “Summer Capital,” the place people from Manila used to go to when the hot weather set in. We would go there not for a parking lot or for another mall.

The city government of Baguio should have a clear vision where it wants to lead the city, and its officials should listen to its residents. It’s more than an issue of 182 trees. It’s the whole vision of Baguio City—unpolluted air, ample and clean water supply, lots of walking paths, open spaces, pine trees, cultural interchange, development of local crafts. I don’t think Baguio should go the way of other cities. That way is going to bring Baguio to a dead end. Precisely, Baguio’s appeal is that it is not like the cities we come from.

Baguio should stop cutting its Pine Trees. It will not only lead to ecological disasters, like landslides, it will also be an eco-tourism suicide. The 182 pine trees signify the spirit of Baguio City. The pine tree is an icon of Baguio. Pine trees are what make Baguio City the “City of Pines.”