Lawmaker opposes pine tree cutting in Baguio

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

IFUGAO Representative Teodoro Baguilat Jr. joined groups opposing the planned cutting and earth-balling of pines trees along the Luneta Hill in Baguio City to give way to the SM Baguio mall expansion.

Baguilat, chair of the House of Representatives national cultural communities committee, said the planned uprooting of some 182 alnus and pine trees is almost criminal.

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He stressed the removal of the pine trees should not be allowed as they help make Baguio City unique among the cities in the Philippines.

“It is ironic that Baguio is named the City of Pines and yet developers from outside the city and the Cordillera are now there to remove them and are being allowed to do so,” he said.

He urged local officials to reflect on what kind of development they really want. “Do they want a city with greenery and pine trees or a city of malls and blocks of concrete and steel?”

The lawmaker also expressed fear that allowing one developer to uproot so many trees will open the floodgates for other developers to do the same or at an even grander scale.

“If we allow SM to do this to the trees, sooner or later, other developers would follow. People should realize aside from the cool weather and the Cordillera culture, the pine trees also define Baguio. To lose them would mean losing Baguio’s identity,” he said in a statement.

Kabataan Party-list Representative Raymond Palatino recently filed House Resolution 2069, which directs the House committees on natural resources and ecology to conduct a joint inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the legality and propriety of the permit granted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) allowing the cutting and earth-balling of trees.

The resolution also directs the DENR to immediately suspend the clearance and permit granted to SM Development Corporation, which operates the SM mall in Baguio City.

The mall management reiterated, however, that there will be no tree cutting.

SM Supermalls vice president for operations Bien Mateo said they will hire experts in earth-balling of pine trees to ensure the process will not harm the trees.

Mateo said the permits for the expansion, which features a sky garden and environment-friendly design according to the US Green Building Standards, were secured since the first quarter of 2010 and it was only approved late last year after complying with several government requirements.

He said they are open for a dialogue with petitioners to discuss to them the economic and environmental benefits the city will receive from the expansion.

In the expansion alone, the mall management said they will employ more than 1,000 construction workers while the stalls that will open up in the new building will give additional employment opportunities for Baguio residents.

Aside from employment and tourism boost, Mateo said the mall currently contributes to 13 percent of the City Government’s annual earnings, with moves to add more to this income once the expansion pushes through.