Poster of protest

Three Bicol University (BU) student organizations—BU Unesco Club, Symbiosis and Scientia— released recently a poster protesting the cutting of centuries-old trees for the ongoing road-widening project in Bulan, Sorsogon province.

The poster, “Road to Development?” features a tree stump with a road running through it.

The organizations issued the poster to protest the seeming disregard of the Department of Public Works and Highways   for the environment. The road-widening project, which resulted in the cutting of hundreds of centuries-old trees, is being protested by scores of Bicolanos who have taken to social media to express their dismay.

“We feel, as students who actively campaign for the protection and preservation of the environment, that the project is more detrimental than beneficial to the first-class municipality (Bulan), which has a population of around 100,000,” the BU groups behind the  protest said.

They added, “In Bulan, there is hardly any traffic that would burden the public. We understand that the project may be in preparation for a more developed municipality, but there are ways to achieve development without sacrificing the environment.”

BU Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Club adviser Jonathan Jaime Guerrero said, “The excessive and unnecessary cutting of trees for road expansion is never a move toward development.”

He added that the Bicol region was frequently hit by typhoons. With natural calamities getting stronger, as seen with last year’s Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Eastern Visayas, Guerrero said, “we fear that with actions like this, there will come a day when there are no more natural barriers that can prevent further casualties when such a calamity happens.”

“Projects like this should undergo public consultation to maintain harmony between the government and the people,” said Symbiosis president Edric Vargas, as he noted the lack of information dissemination across Bulan.

Vargas added that the initial campaign should make citizens more vigilant about what was happening in their community. “There’s nothing we can do now; the trees have been felled. This poster will serve as a lesson to all of us to become proactive citizens to prevent further similar incidents from happening.”

The BU Unesco Club helps  enable students to create effective and efficient solutions to social and environmental problems.

Symbiosis, meanwhile, leads biology students in promoting environmental causes.

Scientia, the BU College of Science’s official student publication, promotes truthful and reliable campus journalism to create an atmosphere of free expression and responsibility.

The three organizations share a passion for the protection and preservation of the environment.