Life and trees

It’s not a scene out of  J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” where trees with human attributes get back at their oppressors.  But trees in Metro Cebu have literally become deadly, crushing people as they fall amid the rainy season.

The first “killer tree” case was documented in barangay Labogon, Mandaue City, last June. A 15-meter-tall  buri palm lost anchorage after rain loosened the soil. The tree  fell on a house, killing  Romeo Dimpas and his wife Teresa Dimpas in their sleep, including a  male relative.

A similar freak accident occurred last week when a 90-year-old acacia tree fell on a passing jeepney  and crushed to death its driver Clenio Bontuyan.

Chief Forester Leo Terimitar of the Environment Department in Central Visayas said the acacia tree’s roots may have weakened due to a bacterial infection while rain made its leaves heavier, causing the tree to topple.

Anxious residents have since flooded Cebu City’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council Office with demands to cut down trees in their area to avoid a similar accident.

Residents pleaded to have someone cut down  mango, sampalok, buri and acacia trees in eight barangays.

To the disaster office’s credit, its head Alvin Santillana responded with restraint and launched yesterday a drive to trim branches,  not decimate city  trees.
A task force started pruning acacia trees that line Gorordo Avenue. (Cebu City has 120 acacia trees that need pruning.)

Trimming  reduces the risk of wind  gusts breaking off branches or toppling the whole tree.

It also reduces the chance of entangling   utility wires.   And lamplights can better illuminate the streets.

It’s now up to the  Environment Department’s Forest Protection and Law Enforcement division to determine whether or not to green light the cutting down of 53 buri palms in Cebu City.

If the trees have to be removed, healthy seedlings should be planted as replacement.

We mourn because lives were  lost to the fallen trees. Safety measures should be taken to protect lives and property.

But we should also avoid a panic  rush to cut down large trees.  Cebu City needs them not just for shade and aesthetics but also as  natural defense against soil erosion and flooding.

With our sorry  lack of public parks, the few trees that remain standing in the metropolis provide a fraction of the oxygen and recreation needed for  real quality of life.

If the trees are to be our allies in this era of crazy weather patterns,  flash floods and dirty air,  they should be cared for better than before instead of being unceremoniously marked for liquidation.