THE “tree doctor” invited to give an independent assessment of the south Cebu trees is expected to arrive tomorrow.
Dr. Roger de Guzman is a retired tree pathology professor of the University of the Philippines in Los Banos.
He was the one who inspected close to 2,000 trees in Pangasinan that were due for cutting for a road widening project. The issue is now the subject of an environmental case.
De Guzman, it was learned, was also a former professor of DENR 7 Regional Director Isabelo Montejo, whose office made the earlier inventory identifying 84 trees as diseased or dying, and in need for “sanitation cutting”.’
De Guzman was invited by the Cebu-based Philippine Earth Justice Center (PEJC) and will conduct the assessment on Wednesday to Friday.
He is the executive director of the Philippine Federation for Environmental Concerns (PFEC) and a member of the experts advisory pool of the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE).
Lawyer Liza Osorio, PEJC managing trustee, welcomed the announced plan of some Cebu mayors to take the case to court.
“We welcome that opportunity to thresh out and settle this issue in court,” she said.
The Movement for a Livable Cebu (MLC) is drafting proposed designs of roads where trees can be incorporated to show DPWH 7 Regional Director Ador Canlas. “Our urban planners are studying ways to incorporate the trees in the road design,” said MLC co-convenor Louella Alix.
She cited as an example the Orchard Road in Singapore with its wide sidewalks and trees in the middle of the road. Orchard Road, a famous shopping district, has malls and designer boutiques, with benches under the trees for people to sit.
She said trees are important for the City of Naga to combat air pollution since the city hosts coal-producing power plants and a cement complex.
“Only trees can give us oxygen to breathe. It’s important that they be retained in our roads,” she added. In Naga city, four out of seven century-old Acacias have been cut down out of 154 trees affected by the road-widening project.
San Fernando town has identified 77 trees for cutting down, including 28 century-old trees out of a total of 143 roadside trees.
Carcar city has four trees due for cutting, two Acacias and two Gmelina trees. One Acacia is about 100 years old.
Read more stories about the Naga trees issues here!