Workeers start to cut down 20 of more than 40 trees in the grounds of Naga City Central School to give way for a planned a P68 million sports oval project of the city government.
Five concerned citizens yesterday asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop the cutting of trees in Naga City Central School where a sports oval is supposed to be built.
They filed a petition for the court to issue a Writ of Kalikasan, a legal remedy that protects a citizen’s constitutional right to a “balanced and healtful ecology.”
The petitioners, which include the Movement for a Livable Cebu, said the affected trees of Agoho, Narra, and Mahogany were century-old trees and that together with Neem trees in the area, were not sick or dying, but useful in protecting Naga City.
Cutting the trees, they said, poses imminent danger to lives of residents in the lower ground of the public school which is exposed to the risk of landslides and flooding.
They complained that Naga Mayor Val Chiong pursued the project without a public hearing or Environment Management Plan.
“Among the loopholes of the project proposal of Mayor (Valdemar) Chiong was that it did not mention that the implementation of the project is through cutting down of trees,” the petition said.
“Respondents did not even weigh the consequences of the eventful endangerment of lives nearby inhabitanat due to absence of these trees to prevent flood and landslides among others,” the petitioners added.
A petition to stop the tree cutting is signed and filed by petitioners Winley dela Fuente and Marc Canton of the Movement for a Livable Cebu in the Court of Appeals – Cebu station.
Named respondents in the case were Mayor Chiong, city environment officer Obulla Lescano, Environment Undersecretary Demetrio Ignacio, and Regional Director Isabelo Monetjo of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The petitioners are Winley Dela Fuente, who is president of city’s Federation of Parents Teachers Associations (PTA), Naga City Councilor Requiroso del Mar, residents Francis Dejero and Adonis Laborte, and Macaraig Canton, MLC main convenor.
They are assisted in the case by lawyer Rex Fernandez and Alisha Tiu.
Mayor Chiong earlier proposed the construction of a P68 million project for the construction of a sports oval within the premises of the Naga City Central School.
On November 4, petitioners said they were surpsied to find out that several trees were already cut down. At least 34 trees (15 Agoho, 12 Mahogany, 2 Narra and 5 Neem trees) were felled by City Hall workers to prepare the field for the sports oval project.
Mayor Chiong earlier explained that the removal of trees at the project site was already approved by the DENR which issued a tree cutting permit.
Last September 2014, Undersecretary Ignacio issued a clearance to cut 79 trees at the Naga City Central School while the DENR regional director isued a tree cutting permit last Oct 22.
An Environmental Clerance Certificate for the implementation of the Naga City spots oval was also issued by the DENR.
Petitioners said whether there was a permit to cut trees or not, the act of cutting the trees in public land was illegal per se in violation of environmental laws and regulations.
The court will hold a summary hearing to hear both sides and may also issue a Temporary Protection Order (TEPO) if the urgency of the matter is found to have merit.
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