UP-Cebu adjusts plans, spares trees

CEBU, Philippines - Trees in the University of the Philippines-Cebu will no longer be cut; the infrastructure plans will be adjusted instead, according to the school administration.

However, three trees — jackfruit, coconut and fabaceae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family - will be earth-balled or transferred to a nearby location.

These trees are situated within the proposed Business Management Cluster building, which, according to UP-Cebu Architect Dioscoro Alesna Jr., need to be relocated so as not to “sacrifice” more trees.

“We surveyed the building last Wednesday and it cannot be moved further because it will affect more trees. That’s why we prefer to have these trees transferred,” he said during yesterday’s student consultation. Around 70 students attended the consultation.

The project supposedly would be displacing nine trees, among which are acacia, coconut, jackfruit, and Fabaceae. Five of the nine trees, which are less than 15 centimeters in diameter, will be earth-balled, including the coconut and jackfruit.

UP-Cebu has 328 trees.

As to the adjustments, Alesna said they revised some of the building’s design and plan just to accommodate the trees and lessen other environmental impacts.

“But this is a compromise because we need to reduce certain areas. We think of saving the trees so we adjusted the design. It’s a compromise really,” he said.

In effect, Alesna said the Arts and Sciences expansion building’s corridor may be reduced to 1.8 meters from 2.5 meters. The building may also be adjusted two feet more away from the undergraduate building to save at least five trees.

But if the administration opts to have a wider corridor, the width of the classrooms would be adjusted to a certain extent, he added.

With limited space and budget, Alesna said further they are considering the standard classroom size of the Department of Education, which is seven by nine meters (7x9) with a standard class size of 45 students.

“These all are still proposals. We still have to fine-tune these,” he said, adding that the plans would still be synchronized with the approved Land Use Plan of the school. For the academic zone, it should only cover 4.2 hectares of the entire property.

UP Cebu Dean Liza Corro told students that all the developments in the campus are intended for the students’ welfare.

“Don’t ever think that we don’t care for the trees and environment. We are on the same page. We even make some changes in the plan to save the trees,” she said.

“We can’t give everything. If you want better buildings, there are sacrifices to be done like the corridor to protect the environment,” she added.

UP-Cebu has proposed additional facilities amounting to over P20 million including the Arts and Sciences expansion building, the P4.8-million multi-story UP High School building, the two-story BMC building, and the Undergraduate expansion building for the Mass Communication Program.

During the October 15 public forum, students and a civil society movement pushed for the inclusion of trees in the site development plan of UP-Cebu.

Student Council chairperson Justine Balane proposed to have alternative plans, such as vertical development for classrooms and environmental and structural impact study; and tapping environmental planners, environmental organizations and society groups to look into “viable solutions” to minimize environmental risks.  —  Kristine B. Quintas/NSA (FREEMAN)