Citizens group finds two cut trees in Naga highway: ‘Where’s permit?’

Two large trees, not just one, were found cut down and left by the roadside in Naga City, where road widening work is ongoing.

Members of the Movement for a Livable Cebu (MLC), inspected the Naga-Carcar road yesterday, took photos and measurements of a stump and fallen trunks across the CEMEX plant “just next to the overhead conveyor which crosses the highway.”

With this evidence, the citizens group wrote to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Central Visayas, asking if a tree cutting permit had been issued for this.

The query is a preliminary step to a formal complaint.

Under Presidential Decree 953, which the group cited, anyone who cuts down a planted or naturally growing tree of any kind in plazas and public roads without authorization, faces a penalty of six months to two years imprisonment, or a fine of P500 to P2,000.

The exception is when the cutting is done for “public safety” or the tree is pruned for aesthetic purposes, and only upon authorization by the environment office.

“Please note that the crown and the branches of both trees have been removed, and only the lower segments of the trunks are left by the side of the road,” said the MLC letter signed by OIC head convenor Teresa Dosdos-Ruelas.She called attention to “debarking” of the tree.

The open letter to DENR 7 Regional Executive Director Isabelo Montejo followed a series of news reports about 24 century-old trees and 130 other trees in danger of being cut down for the road expansion.

Cebu Daily News last month reported the discovery of one tree cut down to a stump in front of the CEMEX plant, triggering some protests about the pending loss of a canopy of trees planted in 1915 which has become iconic landmarks in south Cebu.

In a dialogue, Montejo confirmed that no tree cutting permit was issued, and that an application for one by the Dept. of Public Works and Highways has been sent to the central office in Manila for decision.

The contractor AR Adlawan confirmed cutting down one “defective” century-old tree in barangay Tinaan near CEMEX.

Officials are weighing their next steps after tree-balling was ruled out as too costly and Rep. Eduardo Gullas called for the completion of the 3.1 kilometer road section, a P123 million project.