300 trees to be ‘sacrificed’ for road project

DAGUPAN CITY—More than 300 trees on MacArthur Highway spanning Binalonan and Sison towns in Pangasinan would either be cut, pruned or transferred to make way for a road-widening project, an environment official said.

Leduina Co, provincial environment and natural resources officer, said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have conducted an inventory and identified 321 trees that have been marked for cutting (marked with “X”) and pruning (marked with “P”).

Co, however, clarified that a permit has yet to be issued for the tree cutting.

These trees are considered premium species. They include mahogany and narra, some of which are 100 years old, she said.

The provincial environment office would recommend whether the trees would be cut, pruned or balled. The recommendation would be sent to the DENR regional office for further screening and then forwarded to the office of the environment secretary for approval.

Emmanuel Diaz, DPWH eastern Pangasinan district chief, said more than 40 trees would be cut, “or we cannot go on with the project.” Co said these trees are on or very near the highway’s shoulder.

“We cannot do anything because [the road widening] is a very important project to solve traffic congestion. The cutting of trees was also allowed along the highway in Urdaneta City. There is no other option but to sacrifice some trees,” she said. Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon