Gov’t collaboration and citizen engagement

News of the century-old tree toppling down and blocking off the highway in the southern part of Cebu elicited a cacophony of responses from public officials. The usual “I-told-you-so” remarks that the old trees should be removed and heaping the blame solely on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reveal a lot.

It exposes a very sad state of affairs which is not beneficial to any of us, that of a continuing failure of government to coordinate, collaborate and equally as important, to take ownership of the mandates to ensure the safety of the public and protect our environment. If we look long and hard at the mandates of government agencies, both the national and local governments have a shared responsibility to protect the people, the trees which provide a whole array of services incapable of replication by technology, and the planet.

The recurring incident also reflects a lack of visible citizen participation in policy-making and in monitoring and evaluation of programs and projects of government. Trees are located in communities, even if, in this instance, they are part of the national highway which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works and Highways. Thus, mayors and barangay officials have the duty and should make it their top priority that the health of the trees are regularly assessed, and coordinate with the DENR and act accordingly, to avoid accidents that injure or kill passersby or destroy properties.

The residents likewise should make it their duty to report to government agencies, including local government units, what they have observed in respect to the state of the trees. Did one make such a report of their apparent deteriorating condition?

This incident brought me back to the time when the law students from the University of Cebu College of Law, together with their professors, motored to the same area as a culminating activity, together with the members of the Psychology Volunteers on Bikes. There was then until now a serious threat of the trees’ destruction as a result of a road-widening project at the behest of a congressional representative.

The students took note of the condition of the trees, some of which were marked (as if they were set “to be axed”, figuratively speaking). As a symbolic gesture of care for the trees and to call the attention of the government that constituents should always be made to participate in the project that impacts them, yellow ribbons were tied around the heritage trees.

The students also interviewed some residents, many of whom were against the removal of the trees as they are part of the memories they had of growing up in their hometown. A dedicated and responsive public official from Carcar  took the time to talk with them. He mentioned a letter of the Sanggunian years back, objecting to the cutting of the heritage trees and proposing solutions, addressed to the DENR.

It felt good to know that this particular local lawmaking body understood its role in protecting the lives of their constituents, their culture and heritage and of course, the environment. Unfortunately, DENR did not reply to the letter as of the time of our visit.

Thereafter, Philippine Earth Justice Center, Inc. requested from DENR its assessment of the inventory and condition of the trees, and documents such as the Environmental Impact Statement of the proponent and Environmental Compliance Certificate, if any was issued by DENR, for the road-widening project. DENR responded with the inventory, but did not include  the other documents requested.

If only our officials perform their mandates well, coordinate with each other and reach out to our communities, with our people duly accorded the respect for their unquestionable sovereign right to participate in the decision-making process as guaranteed by the Constitution, we could have avoided many of the tragedies and human-induced disasters in the past.

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Another looming disaster is the plan, as reported in our dailies, to convert the hazardous and mercury-laden Inayawan dumpsite into a commercial development area. By the way, I refuse to call it a landfill, as it is still not in compliance with the requirements of RA 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, for a sanitary landfill.

Mayor Michael Rama and the officials in City Hall should learn the sad lessons of the tragedy that befell the Love Canal in the United States (https://www2.epa.gov/aboutepa/love-canal-tragedy). A former hazardous disposal facility was developed into a residential community which became a nightmare for the people living in the area. There were miscarriages, deformities in children and ailments.

It is wise and prudent for the mayor to have a dialogue with his constituents on this matter. Perhaps, as a result, the much-needed Solid Waste Management Plan for the city will become a reality.