“Dying” age-old acacia at Capitol park to be cut

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines –  A huge acacia tree, believed to be decades old and situated at the Ninoy Aquino Freedom Park fronting the Capitol in this city, will be taken down for being a threat to the lives of the people passing around it.

Capitol spokesperson Adrian Sedillo yesterday, however, assured that the activity will be under the close supervision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which assessed the condition of the tree as "dying."

Sedillo said the provincial government, through the General Services Office headed by Berchman Patrimonio, had applied for a tree-cutting permit with the DENR to cut down the acacia tree and avoid accidents especially with the coming Buglasan Festival in October when many people will be at the park.

Patrimonio on September 16 wrote to Efren Rombawa, OIC Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer, asking for permit to prune the tree first, while the cutting pemit has yet to be issued at the time.

Rombawa, in a memorandum dated September 17, replied that, in consideration of the Buglasan Festival, his office recommended the supervised pruning of the tree while complying with the requirements on the tree-cutting permit application.

Sedillo further said the subject tree has been under the DENR's inventory list, designated as Tree No. 28.

As of Tuesday, the acacia tree was still standing, but all its smaller branches and leaves have been snipped off by the General Services Office.

In a related development, Governor Roel Degamo has ordered the pruning of top-heavy trees as part of the Capitol's efforts in disaster mitigation especially with the onset of the rainy season and the increasing number of weather disturbances in the country in recent months, Sedillo said.