A Buri tree was cut down as a precautionary measure in barangay Opao, Mandaue City but fell on three houses Sunday afternoon.
No one was injured .
The fallen tree damaged houses of Jose Pueblos, Jocelyn Sanchez and Mark Clinton Cuerbo.
Sanchez and Pueblos had hired someone to cut the Buri tree near their houses for fear that it may topple during a storm.
They hired Junlito Lacsena to do the chore after they were turned down by barangay officials whom they first approached before Typhoon Yolanda hit the country in November last year.
Lacsena was paid P3,000 to cut the Buri tree and one coconut tree.
He tied a rope around the trunk and used an ax to cut it down.
Neighbors helped pull the trunk to guide the direction of its fall, but it still collapsed on the houses.
Lacsena apologized for the mishap and promised to help repair their houses.
The parties went to the police station and signed an agreement on this.
Pueblos said he first went to the barangay hall yesterday morning asking for help to remove the tree.
Councilor Rene Regudo told him that the barangay’s chainsaw wasnot working.
So Pueblos went home and found someone else to do it.
“They even asked if we have a tree cutting permit from DENR,” Pueblos said.