Smokey Mountain greenbelt

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Philippine Wood Producers Association have signed a joint agreement to convert Smokey Mountain in Tondo, Manila into a city forest. That is a project that is most welcomed and that could turn Manila into a greener city. Right now, Manila has only Arroceros Forest as its only forested area. It would be great if Smokey Mountain were converted into its second forest.

Before the war, Manila had its Jardin Botanico which was later expanded into a zoo. We recall that as a child, we would often visit the zoo to see an elephant named Goyo. The elephant was donated by my father and for a while it was kept in our home that was located in the corner of Oroquieta and Zurbaran streets. The rumor quickly spread that there was an elephant in our garden and literally hundreds of people came daily to see the elephant. When first told that there was an elephant in one of the residences, the public’s initial reaction was to say, "Goyo!" That is how the elephant got its name.

We are very happy that Manila will have its second forested area in Smokey Mountain. We understand that durable trees like mahogany and acacia will be planted in the area. We hope that they will plant some large trees because it takes time for trees to grow. The problem, of course, is that it costs a lot of money to move full-grown trees from the rural to the urban area.

We believe that other cities in Metro Manila should follow Manila’s reforestation project. It would be great, for instance, if Makati would now convert the area along the railroad tracks that were occupied by squatters into a forest area. The railroad track is located in a major highway and if it were turned into a forest, it would be the major forest in all of Metro Manila. Trees absorb polluted air and give off fresh oxygen. So one way of dealing with pollution and making the environment cooler is by planting trees.

We hope that Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay seriously considers the forestation of the area along the railway tracks as the next step after successfully moving the squatters to Laguna. We would also like to praise that move because the squatters were not just thrown out of the area; they were provided with a suitable place to stay and provided with a lot of help. It was a win-win situation.

Metro Manila could certainly use more trees. What we suggest is that every city in Metro Manila should have a tree-planting project and that it should be at a barangay level. No other Asia Pacific country was deforested as extensively as the Philippines after World War II. And Joyce Kilmer was right. Only God can create a tree. But we can all plant and propagate them.