Subic casino-hotel developer told: Stick to the topography

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza “admonished” yesterday the developer of the $120-million casino-hotel project at the Subic Bay Freeport “to stick to the topography of the area” and “not sacrifice the trees.”

This, as Atienza asked the project proponent, Grand Utopia Inc., to redesign its plan for the Ocean9 Casino and Hotel “as architect Felino Palafox Jr. would have done it” and suggested that the renowned urban planner be taken back as a consultant to the project to address concerns on existing mature trees at the project site.

In an interview, Atienza also denied a published “press statement” (not in The STAR) that purportedly came from him, where he appeared to have “criticized” Palafox, who had exposed the plan to cut trees to give way to the Ocean9 project.

“It’s a not a statement from me. I did not issue a statement like that. It seems that somebody’s trying to confuse the situation,” he said.

“We conducted the ocular inspection of the site the other day and I told the developers that it is necessary to redesign the whole construction so that the mature trees would be part of the whole layout… the whole attraction. What I said was that with that admonition, on the basis of our inspection, we did not see any trees cut yet,” he said.

Atienza maintained his earlier position that “no trees should be cut” in the casino-hotel project, reiterating that it is imperative to protect the mature trees, saplings, and young trees in the site.

Atienza said he has ordered the Environmental Management Bureau to conduct a thorough analysis of the soil in the area amid allegations that trees there are being “poisoned.”

In his ocular inspection, Atienza observed that a “few trees” were drying up but quickly noted that these are narra trees, which usually dry up during the cold season.

Nevertheless, Atienza said he ordered a thorough soil analysis to determine the real cause of the drying up of the trees in the site.

“The developers must stick to the topography of the area and augment the environment, and not to sacrifice the trees. On this note, I invited Palafox to sit with me and help us guide the developers properly,” he said.

“The developers should redesign the project as architect Palafox would have done it, and maybe also (the developers should) get him back as a consultant to address this issue,” he added.

Earlier, Atienza said Grand Utopia Inc., a Korean company, had pledged to President Arroyo that “not a single tree” would be cut in carrying out its project.

But he said that based on a document in his possession, at least 300 trees in the site would be cut for the casino-hotel project.