EDITORIAL - Hazards posed by trees on the road

The widening of that portion of road beside the Cebu Provincial Capitol between M. Velez and Escario streets is finished. The widened road has resulted in a palpable easing of traffic congestion in the area, particularly in the morning rush hours as traffic from the giant barangays of Guadalupe and Labangon now have at least two lanes to themselves. Returning traffic in the late afternoon and evening, though, have to contend with only one lane.

Still, things are a whole lot better than they were before. But as with everything in this world, nothing is really perfect. And so, while traffic in the area has greatly improved, another great concern has taken its place -- and that is the hazard posed by the giant trees that have been left standing in the middle of the widened road.

There are seven of these big trees preventing motorists from having a clear path before them. Each one of these seven trees is creating a situation of great uncertainty. Maneuvering through these trees is a road experience that is an accident waiting to happen. The danger is particularly high at night because the area is not well-lighted.

And why are these trees still standing in the middle of the road? Because some people with a false sense of environmental concern have succeeded in convincing certain government agencies to think the way they do, instead of looking at the big picture and acting in an appropriate, practical and realistic manner. The picture that this strange situation presents is that the environment can be saved if the seven trees are allowed to stay in the middle of the road.

This is the same situation at the Cebu South Road, in which several giant acacia trees have been allowed to stall a road widening project despite the fact that these trees are more than a hundred years old and are already in danger of falling of their own accord due to rotting and old age. In fact, some have already fallen and caused injuries, a fact that has been criminally ignored in favor of preserving the trees ostensibly for their historical value.

There is nothing wrong with protecting trees and protecting the environment. Everybody is for that objective. But keeping the trees along the Cebu South Road and those beside the Capitol does not make up the whole effort of fighting for Mother Earth. In fact these are too insignificant to really make a difference and are good only for promoting the advocacies of certain people before the media. Keeping these trees is nothing more than a publicity stunt.

It has been proposed that in exchange for cutting down these obstructing trees and safety hazards, hundreds if not thousands will be planted in areas where trees can really make a difference for the environment. But the publicity-hungry self-styled environmentalists would hear none of that. They don't want trees in the mountains where there are no tv cameras. And in the forests, where illegal loggers are truly killing the environment, the urban trippers fear for their lives.