Oldest pine tree in Baguio bows down to Typhoon Ompong

Image: Facebook/Ronan Fagyan

The 200-year-old “Veteran Pine”, known among locals as the oldest pine tree in Baguio, is no more as it toppled due to a landslide brought about by Typhoon Ompong.

Veteran Pine, located along the road leading to Mines View Park, had been declared dead by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) back in 2011. However, it was sculpted into a monument as homage to the city’s pine trees, with Cordillera woodcarvers peeling off its bark to chisel the face of “Iddaya,” a generous wealthy character in Ifugao lore.

Veteran Pine, however, was no match to typhoon Ompong as it succumbed to the strength of the storm’s rains and winds last Sept. 15, as captured in a video by Baguio resident Ronan Fagyan. In Fagyan’s video, Veteran Pine can be seen toppling around the 2:50 mark, after its foundation below gave way.

https://www.facebook.com/ronan.fagyan/videos/1882776205141777/?__xts__[0]=68.ARBtvkEXBpN7aGC3CkVdZ-dTSrdphPbsN61af08xNX27yzJYMujzIRfj-rz1GndCCrzTxd6olLuYEZXipoXQGTfjDzZk3RsB6aysuqmMj2R8pUw4QGy6WeWrqlqgLYkQCvzpVoOBdfmqZzlUZ6LjATmTVf88p1MqbTex-K-SZs9lfxMlZokGzw&__tn__=-R

Fagyan told INQUIRER.net today, Sept. 18, that he was at the balcony of his uncle’s house when he took the video. And it wasn’t just the Veteran Pine that took the blow from the storm, as Fagyan shared there were actually those who got caught in the landslide involving the tree, and suffered injuries.

“May nadisgrasya nung unang slide nya at nagrerecover [ngayon] sa hospital,” Fagyan told INQUIRER.net. (There were those who got harmed during the tree’s first slide, recovering now in the hospital.)

As for Veteran Pine, Fagyan said it’s still unknown what their barangay plans to do about the fallen tree. “Wala pa akong narinig sa barangay namin kung may plano sila about restoring the place,” he said. (I haven’t heard from our barangay, if they have plans about restoring the place.)

Fagyan hopes, however, that the 200-year-old tree would somehow be commemorated.

“Kung sa’kin lang gusto kong malagyan ng marker uli yung [site] para malaman ng tao na once [there] was a tree… Malungkot kasi wala nang makita.”

(I would like that a marker be set up, so people would know that there was once a tree there. It’s sad now because you can no longer see anything.) JB

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