No go-signal for cutting of trees on Iloilo road

ILOILO CITY, Philippines—The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) has not approved a plan to cut or remove decades-old trees on a major street in Iloilo City due to a road-widening project.

Cenro head Noel Hechanova said no application had been filed at his office on the plan to remove trees on an elevated concrete strip dividing General Luna Street.

“Under a city ordinance, the cutting or removal of trees needs permission from the Cenro,” Hechanova told the Inquirer.

He said the Cenro also usually conducted technical or public consultations if there was strong opposition on the removal of trees.

While some trees could be removed in development projects, he said the Cenro usually allowed the cutting of trees only if these posed risks to life and property, Hechanova said.

The planned cutting of trees has drawn the attention of city council members and environmentalists due to an ongoing road-widening project on General Luna Street.

The project being implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) involves the widening of the street by removing about half a meter from each side of the concrete strip to widen the road into six lanes, as part of efforts to ease traffic in the city.

But work on the concrete strip has exposed the roots of the trees. The DPWH has also confirmed plans to replace the trees with royal palm trees.

The city council has passed a resolution protesting the cutting or removal of the trees that, it said, have served as a landmark for Iloilo and Ilonggo folk.

Hechanova said he had called the attention of the DPWH and the project contractor on the city ordinance on the cutting or removal of trees.

The 1.7-kilometer General Luna Street is a four-lane thoroughfare stretching from the University of the Philippines Visayas campus to Arroyo Fountain in front of the old Iloilo provincial capitol.

It connects Molo District and Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue, the city’s new commercial, lifestyle and entertainment center, to the central business district and government centers, including the Iloilo provincial capitol and the Iloilo City Hall.