50 environment advocates continue tree-cutting protest

PROTESTERS tie ribbons around tree trunks along the Manila North Road in Binalonan town in Pangasinan province on Sunday to oppose the continuous cutting of trees in the area. WILLIE LOMIBAO/ INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

BINALONAN, Pangasinan—At least 50 members of civil society groups and Pangasinan residents on Sunday tied ribbons around tree trunks along the Manila North Road (MNR) here to dramatize their protest against the continuous cutting of trees to give way to a road widening project.

Councilor Judith Morden of Villasis town, who led lawyers and professionals in the activity, said the ribbon-tying was meant to protect the remaining 500 trees along the highway.

“There used to be 1,800 [trees] but now only 500 trees remain. [This] will be a sign of protest against the continuous and irresponsible cutting of our beautiful trees,” she said.

Among those who joined the activity were Fr. Robert Reyes, known as the “running priest,” and Dong Abay, former vocalist of the 1990s duo Yano.

The more than 500 trees are among the 770 left standing after the tree-cutting permit of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) expired in February 2013. The permit, issued by the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), allowed the DPWH to cut 1,829 trees.

The remaining trees, however, have all been girdled, a process where a patch of bark around the trunk is removed to prevent nutrients from circulating within the tree.

Waiting for court decision

The DPWH had applied for a new tree-cutting permit but nongovernment organizations opposed it. In June 2014, the group Women in Development (WID) Foundation asked a court in Urdaneta City to issue a temporary environmental protection order to save the trees. The court has yet to decide on the petition.

But on Aug. 20, the DENR issued a permit to the DPWH to remove 181 “dead  and dying trees” along the MNR traversing Urdaneta City and the towns of Binalonan and Pozorrubio.

“We cannot allow this to happen. Ordinary people have the power, if they get together, to stop a sacrilegious act,” said Virginia Pasalo, WID founding chair and a resident of Pozorrubio town.

Pasalo said DPWH and DENR had felled 1,059 trees in 2013 but civil society organizations had stopped the cutting of the remaining 700 trees.

Girdled trees

“But they were girdled to ensure that they die as days passed. Miraculously, with God’s love, most of them survived the attempted murder, except for 180 trees identified as ‘dead and dying,’ which were declared such without the participation of civil society groups,” she said.

She said some trees that were cut were healthy and sprouting new leaves after these were revived by members of civil society groups.

“I do not believe that the state has the right to unilaterally impose a development program without consultation, and in utter disregard of [the impact of] climate change and the right of future generations to clean air,” Pasalo said.

“Our right to a balanced and healthful ecology, for the first time in our nation’s constitutional history, is solemnly incorporated in the [Constitution],” she said. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon