‘Majority of mayors’ back tree cutting

CEBU, Philippines - If the president of the League of Municipalities in the Philippines in Cebu is to be believed, “almost all” of the mayors in the province are backing the cutting of century-old trees along the highways in south Cebu.

Tuburan Mayor Democrito Diamante, LMP-Cebu president, said they will also file a resolution urging the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to give back the permit to cut the trees.

This is apart from the case to be filed by the LMP against DENR for recalling the tree cutting permit, Diamante said. He will also ask the mayors to sign a petition.

The cutting of trees was stopped after the DENR recalled the permits following the continued protest of environmental groups which appealed to the government to stop cutting down heritage acacia trees.

“Di lang majority but almost all mayors, usa ang opinion ug pagsuporta anang kaso nga among i-file. Ang stand namo diha, magkahiusa mi nga mosuporta ana. Kay kanang ilang (environmentalists) gihimo is anti-development (Not just the majority but almost all mayors have the same opinion and support the filing of case.  What the environmentalists are doing is an anti-development),” Diamante told reporters.

Diamante said those trees have already been found by DENR to be defective and are posing danger to humans. The mayors, he said, are also calling to have them cut to pave way for development projects such as road-widening and to ensure public safety.

“Mga karaan na nang mga kahoya. Kintahay og matumba ‘nang mga kahoya, kinsa man ang first responders? Kaming local chief executives… Dunay mga lugar nga pwede ta mananom og kahoy, pero daplin sa kalsada, di na’ mahimo. (Those trees are already old. If they topple down, who would be the first responders? We, the local chief executives. There are areas where we can plant trees, but not along the roads),”he stressed.

The issue concerning the cutting of trees in Carcar and Naga cities and San Fernando town and the mayors’ move were discussed during the LMP meeting yesterday afternoon.

Diamante, in a previous interview with The Freeman, appealed to the environmentalists to also consider the general welfare of the public and the opinion of the majority.

“Ang atong gitan-aw diha welfare sa kadaghanan, dili welfare sa usa ka tawo. Wa mi nagpasagad. Ang kanang mga environmentalists, ilang gitan-aw ang ilang kawsa ra, wa sila magtan-aw sa opinion sa majority,” the LMP-Cebu president said. —/NSA (FREEMAN)