AROUND 65 trees in two major thoroughfares in Cebu City will be removed after the Cebu City Council did not object to the request of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 to implement its road improvement and widening projects.
The 65 trees are in two areas—61 on N. Bacalso Ave. and four on Archbishop Reyes Ave.
As stated in two separate resolutions of City Councilor Jerry Guardo, the trees in the two areas will be earthballed. The resolutions were approved during the regular session on Dec. 11 and 18, 2019.
The council earlier said the trees subject for earthballing will be transferred to the parks and plazas in the city.
All 61 trees on N. Bacalso Ave. are narra trees. On Archbishop Reyes Ave., the trees that will be earthballed are two mahogany trees, one mango tree and one buri palm.
Earth-balling is the process of removing a tree and its entire root system to ensure its survival during transplanting.
Guardo said the DPWH 7 is set to widen N. Bacalso Ave., which entails road right-of-way (RROW)acquisition in Barangays Mambaling and Basak San Nicolas.
He said the narra trees in the area caused delays in the project implementation.
After inspecting the trees on Nov. 20, the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) recommended the ball-out of all 61 narra trees.
As for the trees on Archbishop Reyes Ave., even if the Lahug Barangay Council did not object to the cutting of the trees, the Cenro recommended to earthball these instead.
The DPWH had already secured a Special Tree Cutting Permit from the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in July for both projects but its validity lapsed due to some circumstances of the project implementation, including RROW acquisition issues. (JJL)