Naga mayor favors tree-cutting; Vice governor offers options

NAGA City Mayor Valdemar Chiong favors cutting down old trees after one century-old acacia collapsed on the road last July, tying up traffic.

He said he received a copy of the special tree-cutting permit for Naga last week from the Deparment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

He said he was not aware of a dialogue with residents of barangays Inuburan, Langtan and Tinaan on the proposal.

“I was unable to attend one but I told them there was a prior recommendation to cut down the trees,” Chiong said. He said he made the recommendation when one of the century-old trees fell down last July.

Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said there are still ways to spare the acacia trees from being cut down to avoid further dleays in the Carcar-Naga City road-widening project.

She said one way is to pave a road on each side of the existing highway so that the trees will be converted into a makeshift center island.

Magpale said she will bring up the road-paving suggestion to representatives of the Philippine Earth Justice Center (PEJC) headed by lawyers, Rose Liza Osorio and Gloria Estenzo Ramos in their meeting today.

“That’s possible although it will be more expensive and will take much time. That’s just a proposal. I have not filed anything formal for the proposal yet but we will explore the possibility of talking to DPWH,” she said.

Magpale said the safety of motorists should be considered, concern raised by Provincial Board (PB) member Julian Daan in a resolution months back.

Unlike other perennial trees, she said “acacia trees are faster to rot and become hollow on the inside.”

“There will come a time that it will fall down so that area has to be cleared. That was according to the suggestion of the board,” she said. Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos