Cebu City to earthball 2,024 trees affected by BRT routes
As much as possible, trees along the routes of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Cebu City will not be cut down. They will be carefully replanted somewhere else.
This was the assurance of Cebu City Parks and Playgrounds Commission (CCPPC) administrator Arlie Gesta.
“We never recommend indiscriminate tree cutting. We always go for earthballing so as to save the trees. But if there are really defective and dangerous trees, it will be best to cut them,” Gesta said.
About 2,000 trees along Osmeña Boulevard and other streets from south Cebu City to Talamban in the north will be affected by new routes opened for for the BRT project, based on an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study by the Dept. of Transportation and Communication (DOTC).
Two weeks ago, Gesta was approached by Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) executive director Rafael Yap to consult him about how to conserve over 2,000 trees that will be affected by the BRT project.
Gesta said the commission will first make an inventory of the trees and ask the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) for a permit to earthball, a process that requires carefully removing a tree by its roots and replanting them somewhere else.
Most of the planted trees along city roads are under City Hall’s urban greening program.
Citom’s Yap clarified that there is still no concrete plan about this since City Hall is still awaiting the detailed engineering study to start this year.
“The detailed engineering design will dictate the final activities needed to be done including any earthballing or tree removal,” Yap said.
The conduct of the design will be supervised by both the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Cebu City government.
All tree-cutting permits were suspended this month by the DENR 7 following the controversy over cutting down century-old trees along road widening projects of the Dept. of Public Works and Highways.
The DENR-7 said there are several requirements for applications for tree-cutting or earthballing permits, such as “thorough and comprehensive consultation with the concerned LGUs, civil society groups and other stakeholders,” said DENR-7 spokesman Eddie Llamedo.
“Also, a clearance from the DPWH Secretary should be obtained before DENR accepts the application,” he added.
A certification from the city mayor and the barangays affected interposing no objection to the earthballing of the trees is needed.
Most of the trees to be affected are Narra trees along Osmeña Blvd,” Llamedo said.
Based on the DOTC’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Cebu BRT Project, 2,024 trees will be affected in the first phase of —-the project route from Bulacao to Ayala where trees occupy both sides of the road and center islands.
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