Cojuangco: SP OK’d tree cutting
COJUANGCO UPDATES
SP RES. NO. 159-2012
SISON—Former fifth district representative Mark Cojuangco chided the members of the provincial board of Pangasinan asking them to review their “no to tree cutting” stand given what they had approved in 2012 the province’s Environment Code allowing “the removal of existing trees and structures affected by road widening within the right of way”.
Provincial Board Ordinance No. 159-2012 “An Ordinance Enacting the Pangasinan Environment Code of 2012” passed on July 2, 2012, authored by then Board Member Von Mark Mendoza and signed unanimously by the entire board and approved by Governor Amado Espino Jr. contained this provision.
Article 3, Section 5, paragraph d) of the said ordinance states that “The road setback requirement of DPWH as adopted under this Code starts from the edge of the road right-of-way. For national roads, a ten-meter setback from the centerline and should be free from obstructions, and tree planting activities within the ten-meter setback is not allowed. It shall also include the removal of existing trees and structures affected by road widening within the right of way”.
Former Pangasinan fifth district Rep. Mark Cojuangco (center) is joined in a press conference by mayors Dita Abrenica (Villasis), Mina Joy Pangasinan (Sison), Ramon Guico III (Binalonan), Amadeo Perez IV (Urdaneta City) and Artemio Chan (Pozorrubio) who gave local newsmen copies of their approved municipal council resolutions approving tree cutting along the Manila North Road project that traverses their areas. With them (far right) is Abono party-list founding president Engr. Rosendo So.
Cojuangco said with that position taken by the provincial board, said he sees no legal impediment for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to issue another permit for the remaining uncut trees (about 770) along the Manila North Road (MNR), which traverses his district.
“That’s why I have been fighting for this because we are following legal processes and part of it is the fact that the provincial board has made clear earlier its stand as embodied in the Environment Code,” Cojuangco said.
Cojuangco consistently said he is not against trees but want them to be planted at the right places that would not pose hazard and danger to the public.
During his incumbency, Cojuangco fought for the inclusion of an item under the General Appropriations Act in 2010 the amount of P46-million for trees in right of way and construction of drainage in the MNR. But the amount was unused and was instead spent for projects under the Development Acceleration Program of Malacanang.
Last month, the provincial board passed Resolution No. 269-2014 entitled “Expressing the sense of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan opposing the tree-cutting along the national road within Pangasinan with intent to preserve as many trees as possible”.
Cojuangco held a press conference Tuesday here accompanied by five mayors whose areas were traversed by the delayed MNR construction due to obstructions on trees that need to be cut but remained standing following issues surrounding it and aggravated by verbal tussle between him and the governor.
Mayors Dita Abrenica (Villasis), Mina Joy Pangasinan (Sison), Ramon Guico III (Binalonan), Amadeo Perez IV (Urdaneta City) and Artemio Chan (Pozorrubio) were united in saying that they were not consulted by the provincial board in its “no-to-tree-cutting” stand. They said their respective municipal/city councils passed resolutions twice approving the cutting of trees traversed by the MNR in their areas but these were not considered by the board.
Meanwhile, on the report that he called the provincial board resolution which he allegedly branded as “a piece of toilet paper”, Cojuangco said, “Never will I, and never shall I disrespect the opinions and powers of our provincial board or governor,” Cojuangco said in a separate statement.
Cojuangco pointed out that he only questioned the legality of a memorandum of agreement, not the board resolution, signed by Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan with some local representatives of the DENR, Department of Public Works and Highways and two non-government organizations saying no to tree cutting in Pangasinan.
“In short, Administrator Baraan should be taken to task by the Governor and the Board for the embarrassment of producing such politically motivated document that has as much efficacy as a piece of Ilo in Pangasinan and Ilocano, papel pampunas sa puwet in Filipino, toilet paper in English,” Cojuangco said.
Cojuangco said he should not be branded by the governor as anti-trees as he loves planting trees like what he, his family and his family-owned business Northern Cement Corporation had been doing in Pangasinan and nearby provinces, planting about 200,000 seedlings already, that included no less than the town of Bugallon where Espino’s son, Jumel, is the incumbent mayor.
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