‘HUNT FOR TREE THIEVES’

DENR forester Filemon Embalzado Jr. checks tree branches about to be sold as firewood. Photos of the road project on

The trees which the Cebu City Council complained had “disappeared” over the weekend were uprooted by WT Construction Inc., contractor of the ongoing road rehabilitation work on Serging Osmeña Road.

The activity had been going on at nighttime since March 26 as part of a hollow promise to “earth-ball” and transfer the trees alive to a government site.

In a matter of days, the center island and over 100 trees on it were gone.
Some branches, bundled as firewood, were confiscated yesterday from a sidewalk vendor in Pier 5.

But the bulk of some 100 “fire trees”, valued by landscapers as ornamental trees with their dramatic red flowers, could be anywhere.

Video footage of security cameras showed a backhoe of W.T. Construction hauling trees from what used to be the center island.

“The video speaks for itself,” said Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak yesterday.

“WT shouldn’t dodge responsibility for this because it’s clear in the CCTV camera that they removed the trees,” he said.

Photos of the road project on March 18 with the center island still visible and another on April 3, with only two trees left.

A cease-and-desist order was issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) against the Department of Public works and Highways (DPWH) which is in charge of the P289.5 million road project.

The DPWH which was earlier given a permit to “earth-ball” was ordered to stop while an investigation gets underway.

Tumulak said he reviewed recordings of the city government’s closed-circuit TV cameras installed on street intersections in the North Reclamation Area.

They captured images of a red backhoe of W.T. Construction uprooting and loading the trees on a dump truck between 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. since last week and the truck traveling north to Mandaue City each time it would pull out.

“At the end of the day, we should identify who should be held liable,” said Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.

He called for an investigation after Councilor Nida Cabrera condemned the sudden removal over 100 fire trees along the national road in a privilege speech delivered on Wednesday.

She said city officials were unaware of the activity, and that DPWH and that the contractor couldn’t explain clearly what happened to the trees which were supposed to be earth-balled and replanted in Plaza Independencia or a park for senior citizens near City Hall.

WT Construction consultant Adolfo Quiroga told Tumulak by phone yesterday that the firm was already looking for tree “replacements”.

“We will be calling the operators working in the area on Friday to shed light on what happened,” Quiroga told Cebu Daily News later.

About one kilometer from the corner of Radisson Blu hotel to Pier 5 near the Robinson’s vacant lot, is being prepared for concreting, part of a P289.5 million project.

The first phase of the project extends from the corner of Juan Luna Avenue Extension to General Maxilom Avenue Extension.

The center island was demolished, and with it the trees planted there.

The DENR’s cease-and-desist order was issued yesterday by Anastacio Cabalejo, chief of the DENR’s Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) who had earlier issued a permit dated March 24 for earth-balling.

It was directed at the DPWH, but the action comes too late.

FIREWOOD

Branches of some trees uprooted from the center island were found chopped and dried for use as firewood.

At least 40 bundles, tied and stacked, were confiscated yesterday by a DENR forester from a cigarette sidewalk vendor in pier 5.

The DENR still has to locate the rest of over 100 trees.

A team of the CENRO and Cebu City Parks and Playgrounds Commission visited the compound of WT Construction in Tayud, Liloan town but found no trees there.

A few hours later, some uprooted trees were found in an open space in front of Gate 3 of Pier 5 in Cebu City.

“The trees were already cut down and tied possibly for sale. More than 40 bundles of chopped trees were found.

Tumulak told CDN a vendor named Yolanda dela Cerna admitted taking branches and trunks from trucks of the private contractor. He said the vendor was planning to sell the chopped tree parts as firewood.

When CDN visited the project site, nothing was left except a smooth road and less than 10 scraggly trees.

Earth-balling is a process of carefully removing or extracting a tree including the soil around it and transplanting it to ensure its continued growth, said DENR in a press statement.

DENR Regional Executive Director Isabel Montejo emphasized that earth-balling is different from tree cutting, which requires prior clearance and authority from the DENR Central Office.

Earth-balled trees should be replanted immediately after they are removed to a certain site to ensure a higher survival rate.

“Trees are very sensitive particularly their root system and it would compromise their health if they are not brought or hauled immediately,” he said.

Arleigh Gesta of the Cebu City Parks and Playgrounds commission said that if the trees were properly earth-balled, they would survive for five to seven days but have to be replanted right after.

“But they have to be properly removed with roots intact so they can survive,” he said in a radio dyAB interview.

On the value of trees, Montejo said trees have life and create a cooler, fresher, healthier climate and ecology in public places.

Generally, trees and other vegetation, both planted and naturally-growing, with a diameter of 15 centimeters and below may be earth-balled.

He said it is the obligation of the permit holder to handle the transplanting of earth-balled trees to an area jointly pre-identified with the DENR, and then maintain and protect the transplanted tree for at least one year.