Tree ‘slaughter’ along MacArthur Highway

BEHIND THE SCENES
Alfred P. Dizon

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Pity, but the coming days, at least 1,211 trees of century-old trees of different variety along MacArthur highway from the municipality of Apalit to this city will be cut for widening of McArthur Highway.

I recently passed this road on my way to Manila and saw crewmen starting work for massive, “slaughter” of the trees. Over the years, I always looked forward to the trees as a welcome respite from ugly shanties and bare fields along the way when I went to the city that never sleeps.

It was always a heady feeling when one passed underneath the giant trees dwarfing vehicles and spreading their comforting branches along the road giving respite from the torturing sun.

But then, in the next few days, that would be gone, courtesy of a government which doesn’t consider environment degradation before embarking on a project which would affect generations to come if it involves millions if not billions of money.

The cutting of trees was part of the road widening scheme by the Regional Department of Public Works and Highways that started last week of June. Aside from trees in the Pampanga portion of the MacArthur Highway, about 1,001 trees will be cut from Bamban to Capas in Tarlac and some 2,192 other trees from Tarlac City to San Manuel town, also in Tarlac.

Somehow, a group of Kapampangan artists painted several acacia trees from Barangays Balite to Telebastagan this city, showing they opposed the cutting of trees. They said the road widening was untimely and impractical. Thousands of various trees have already been cut in Bulacan, particularly along the stretch cutting through Malolos City, they said.

Environment Secretary Jose Atienza Jr., recently, through regional director Antonio Principe, granted the DPWH regional office headed by director Alfredo Tolentino a clearance to cut the trees affected by ongoing road widening and rehabilitation of the public works agency as reportedly embodied in the approved plans of the Regional Development Council last year.

Didn’t Gov. Eddie Panlilio know about the RDC plans? The trees could still be saved maybe by divine providence. But then, concerned residents and environmentalists have to act fast even if they have to bring their cause to Malacanang and imperial Manila media as the undertakers are faster than lightning in implementing the controversial project.

Atienza earlier issued the clearance through an earlier memorandum directing the DENR regional office here to issue a “special tree cutting and earth-balling permit” over the trees in favor of the DPWH.

Come to think of it, the DENR which is supposed to safeguard nature is the one issuing the permits to destroy it. Atienza should be given the job of cleaning the dirty Pasig River while riding a banca. His trademark colorful Hawain shirt could still attract voters from the riversides.

Billboards notifying the public that the project was authorized by the DENR have been put up in affected towns of Apalit, San Simon, Minalin and this city, whose “Acacia Stretch” from Barangay San Agustin to Telabastagan will be hit by the move.

Tolentino was quoted as saying identified and inventoried trees with diameters at breast heights from 26 centimeters and larger will be cut and the logs, timber and derivable wood materials from the tree cutting will be “stockpiled and turned over to the local environment office” for proper disposition.

Trees to be cut by the DPWH for road widening include 779 fully grown Acacia, 36 balete, 175 camachile, 59 mango, and 60 narra trees. Scores of trees with commercial value include molave, tamarind, gmelina and rubber trees.

Another 370 small sized trees or saplings with diameters at breast height of 25 centimeters and smaller shall be “earth-balled” and transplanted in areas jointly identified by the DPWH and the local environment office concerned. Where is that much ballyhooed government program for the environment? As my favorite bubwit always tells me: “Tell that to the marines!