51 trees cut for Legazpi road project

NO MORE SHADE TREES Residents get usable wood after trees were cut due to a road-widening project of the Department of Public Works and Highways along the highway of Rawis District in Legazpi City, Albay province. MARK ALVIC ESPLANA / INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

LEGAZPI CITY—The cutting of “agoho” trees to give way to a road-widening project along the Maharlika Highway here has gotten the green light from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) despite protests from local environmentalists.

A team from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has started felling 51 of the softwood tree species after the DENR central office issued on Feb. 10 a certification allowing the tree cutting, Henry Hernandez of the DENR regional public information office said.

The project area in Barangay Rawis is 3 kilometers away from this city’s business district.

Hernandez said the DENR central office took almost a year to process and approve the request of the DPWH to cut these trees. Among the documents submitted to the agency was a certification from the Legazpi City government that it was not objecting to the cutting of trees along the city’s major roads.

Hernandez, in a telephone interview on Monday, said the DENR and the DPWH agreed that the trees cut for the project would be turned over to the provincial environment and natural resources office (Penro) for processing and disposition.

He said at least 236 trees had been cut along the national highway in Albay province since last year.

The cutting of trees has been opposed by environmentalist groups, which have earlier launched protest actions, including a signature campaign, to save the trees.

Last year, the DPWH received P140 million to finance road- and bridge-widening projects in Bicol. The projects were aimed at easing vehicle flow on major roads in the region.

Of the P19.65 billion earmarked by the DPWH for these projects around the country, Bicol would receive P1.9 billion for road widening and concreting, while another P1.3 billion would be used to widen 33 bridges, from two lanes to four lanes, in the region’s six provinces.