THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) yesterday stopped the cutting of mango trees on a private lot, but not before 50 trees had been chopped down.
Placido Jerusalem, acting head of the Mandaue City Environment and Natural Resources Office, said a special tree-cutting permit from the DENR is still needed even if the trees are planted on private property.
Eddie Llamedo, spokesman of the DENR regional office, said up to 10 trees may be cut within a private property without a permit. DENR approval is required if more than 10 trees are involved.
More or less 50 Mango trees in an estimated 2 hectare land in Barangay Tabok, Mandaue City were toppled without permit from Mandaue City Environment and Natural Tesources Office.(CDN/PHOTO/NORMAN MENDOZA)
Jerusalem visited the property,in Tabok, Mandaue City, yesterday and caught some workers with chainsaws. Caretaker Eric Geronia and the workers failed to present a permit.
Presidential Decree 953 penalizes cutting of trees without a permit with imprisonment of six months to 2 years or a fine between P500 and P5,000.
Jerusalem estimated the mango trees to be 10 years old because the trunks measured an average of 18 inches. The chopped wood is reportedly taken to a noodle factory in barangay Basak, Mandaue City.
The 2-hectare property, reportedly owned by LTS Company, is also filled with palm trees, coconut and bamboo.
“There were still a lot of mango trees. It was possible that all the trees will be cut. Our intention was to check if they have a permit, but they couldn’t present any,” Jerusalem said in Cebuano.
He said he wanted the incident to serve as warning to the public not to arbitrarily cut trees, even within their own properties.