ONE OF THE TWO giant trees that allegedly threatens houses on Perlita Street in San Andres, Manila. This photo was taken yesterday afternoon. RICHARD REYES
Attention Mayor Alfredo Lim. What does it take for a local government to trim a tree?
Apparently seven years, two city administrations and around five agencies, if Remedios Francisco, 73, were to be asked.
Francisco, a former school teacher in San Andres Bukid district in Manila, has seemingly spent her retirement asking local officials to trim what she calls “monster trees” in her barangay’s covered court.
Though nothing out of the ordinary at first glance, the two trees, growing out of Perlita Street’s basketball court, have been left unchecked and now causes some hazard to nearby houses—including Francisco’s on adjacent Amatista Street.
She lives in a modest house with her husband of 50 years, Salvador, 83. Their four children have grown and have moved out to lives of their own.
“We have been through the worst nature has to offer through the years: Floods, typhoons, earthquakes, kids, and a granddaughter, and the old house took them all in stride, managing to survive with its dignity intact. But now, two towering trees threaten our lives and the house that shelters us from the elements,” Remedios said, in a letter to the Inquirer.
While Francisco claims the trees were not yet there when she and her husband moved into the neighborhood in the 1960s, they have now grown taller or at level with the roofs of some houses. The trees’ branches loom over residences and clog roof gutters with leaves and other debris.
Some houses’, the basketball court’s, and even the Barangay Health Center’s roofs and roof gutters, have started to collapse due to the debris.
“God forbid that these gigantic trees get uprooted during one of our storms and fall on the roofs of our homes. What if we die of a heart attack just by fearing such an eventuality while huddled together during a storm? Siguro puno ng rescue at clearing equipment dito. May media coverage pa: ‘Lola at lola, nadaganan ng puno ng gobyerno sa bagyo, patay! (Maybe this place will be full of rescue and clearing equipment. There will also be media coverage: Grandma, grandpa crushed to death by a government tree during a storm),” a sharp-minded Francisco quipped.
Ceiling as waterfall
In bad weather such as the recent rains brought by Tropical Storm “Juaning,” the Franciscos’ ceiling would become a “waterfall” or a “fountain,” Francisco described in an interview.
“You have to get this debris out of your gutters and downspouts almost daily, [that is] if you can afford the roof cleaners at P100 per day of cleaning the gunk on your roof. If not, when it rains, the downspouts are inutile and the gutters overflow and water falls inside the house through the plywood ceiling!” she said.
Aside from the fire hazard the debris pose, Francisco is anxious the thicker branches would fall on their homes or on any idle passerby. Some branches have already broken windows or when they get whipped by strong winds.
Easy to overlook
It’s a common problem that’s easy to overlook, with the city government having to look after thousands of constituents.
The city engineering office have been receiving many such requests for assistance and have been doing its best to cope, city engineer Armand Andres said in an interview.
Francisco understands this, but does not understand why it would have to take almost 10 years and so many offices just to get effective help.
Before finally writing to the Inquirer, she has already sought help in the past years with at least two administrations of barangay officials and the city engineering office, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Manila Metropolitan Development Authority, Meralco, and various media outlets.
The civic-minded schoolteacher has even tried tapping the help of her beloved former students from St. Anthony School in Malate, who are now professionals and some of which have entered the world of politics.
Complications
Complications rise because the trees are on government property. Untrained people cannot simply go up and cut the branches because they may end up damaging the houses. Heavy-duty equipment is also needed to cut the thick branches.
Francisco remembers with frustration how city engineering employees once came to the court bringing only kitchen knives. They ended up gaping at the trees, cutting only the thin, low branches that pose little to no problems, leaving, and never coming back, she narrated.
Francisco has experienced many similar near-hits in the past seven years: Barangay officials, who don’t have the equipment or manpower, have filed the appropriate request paperwork to higher offices but have received no response. Meralco employees came and said they cannot touch government property, and when they do, only when it tangles their wires.
Unanswered
MMDA employees came to look and said they had no gasoline for the operation. Letters to DPWH remained unanswered. Promises made by the city hall officials remained unkept. Broadcast networks’ public service programs could only refer her to government agencies, which would only begin the cycle of bureaucracy anew.
Reduced to crying
“I am sometimes reduced to crying at night. I will never give up on this, but I want to see some action taken before I die,” a bewildered Francisco said.
“If you want to improve your community, you do everything to talk to government officials,” she pointed out.
When Andres was shown pictures of the trees, he immediately called up the city’s fifth engineering district and ordered action on Francisco’s request. He said they would be needing an aerial lift to get the job done.
“They’ve scheduled it and would get it done within the week,” Andres promised.
As of Saturday afternoon, however, no one has come to address the problem.
Still Francisco has her heart set on this commitment. She leaves off with an apt reminder for the government agencies: “Man was created by God to have dominion over all creation. The law was created for man and not the other way around.”
She wishes that “their noble efforts bear fruit” soon.