No tree was cut in Baguio mall, say forestry experts

MANILA, Philippines - Representatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Baguio City and a University of the Philippines Los Baños professor who monitored SM City Baguio’s procedure of earth-balling confirmed that no tree was cut in the mall’s extension and development project.

UPLB professor on forestry Jose Sargento said that during their monitoring, trees were earth-balled and replanted in the approved designated sites.

The procedure, he said, was done overnight following the directive of DENR foresters to capitalize on the soil moisture.

DENR permitted SM City Baguio to conduct the earth-balling subject to compliance with mitigating measures and provision of compensatory actions with which SM has fully complied.

DENR has required SM to plant over 5,000 trees to replace the 182 of the 2,000 trees within the mall property that would be relocated in the same area designated by the government regulating agency.

However, aside from the roof garden that will be filled with over 300 trees that will serve as an elevated park, SM will plant over 50,000 trees in the next three years.

The DENR said this is more than enough to compensate the 182 trees that will be relocated. Planting and maintenance of the first batch of 20,000 trees will start this month in the designated area of DENR.

SM’s earth-balling of trees, however, was temporarily suspended with the issuance of an environmental protection order of a Baguio City court.

Meanwhile, DENR Secretary Ramon Paje Jr. clarified that SM City Baguio’s earth-balling of trees is an accepted procedure.

In a multi-sectoral meeting Monday on the controversial extension project of SM presided over by Secretary Jesse Robredo of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Paje explained that earth-balling is a procedure where the tree together with its root ball is carefully excavated, wrapped and transferred.

In fact, he added, that there is also a need to prune the tree or cut some of its branches before balling it out to minimize the stress on the roots.

Apart from Paje and Robredo, also present in the meeting were DENR-Cordillera Administrative Region director Clarence Baguilat, Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan, Baguio Rep. Bernardo Vergara, and Virgilio Bautista of the Baguio Regional Development Council.

SM City Baguio was represented by Hans Sy, president of SM Prime Holdings Inc.; Annie Garcia, president of SM Supermalls; and Bien Mateo, VP for operations.

On the other hand, the group opposed to the earth-balling of trees was represented by lawyer Cheryl Daytec-Yangot.

During the meeting, SM also presented its expansion program showing the incorporation of environmental sustainability in the project, and the mitigating measures that the mall will carry out in order to compensate for the effect of transferring the affected trees. 

SM is a member of the US Green Building Council, and the SM City Baguio expansion project is a LEED registered project.

SM reiterated its commitment to comply with all the conditions set forth by the permits issued to it and also gave assurance that it will respect any court decision on the matter.

SM has also agreed to Robredo’s proposal for a joint inspection of the expansion area by the combined group from the DENR, city government, UPLB-Forestry, SM, and the leaders of the opposing group.

SM also reiterated that it did not violate the temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) issued by the court last April 9, as charged by its critics.

It said it did not receive the TEPO immediately and it was only when it asked a representative to go to the court to pick up a copy of the TEPO last April 11 that it was able to secure a copy. Immediately the earth-balling operation was stopped.

Meanwhile, records of the Baguio City government show that SM City Baguio was the top taxpayer in the city with 13.4 percent share in the city government’s total business collection for 2011.