Young Roots
Trees
By Johanne Margarette R. Macob
MUCH of the news in the past days were abut heinous crimes in different parts of the country, people mercilessly killing another. Very disconsolate. It pains me to write another sad piece so I would like to share something I found consoling.
Last Monday, the provincial board has stood firm in its decision in opposing the cutting of trees along national and local roads. This resolution came about after different stakeholders protested the cutting of over a thousand decades-old trees along the national highway in eastern Pangasinan towns- Rosales, Villasis, Binalonan, Pozorrubio, Sison, and Urdaneta City. The tree-cutting, the DPWH said, was necessary to pave the way for the Manila North Road (MNR) widening project but those were decades-old trees, decades-long part of our ecosystem. A thousand of seedlings should not be planted to replace these decades-old trees, but should be added to them. I may not be an environmentalist but I do know how to at least respect our environment, our home.
I remember way back in the early part of the year 2012 when we, as students of the University of the Philippines Baguio, were part of the crowd that opposed the earth balling/cutting of 182 pine trees for the expansion of a mall, particularly for the construction of its parking lot. I wasn’t really the hardcore student-activist one would frequently see in rallies. If my memory serves me right, I only joined two public demonstrations throughout my UP undergrad life- first, regarding the Maguindanao massacre and second, for the Baguio trees. But there was no urgency or any public clamor for the mall expansion. The project would have only benefitted those with wheels (apart from the mall owners themselves), and they’re just a little percentage of the whole populace benefiting from the oxygen, the shade, the scenery, and everything else the pine trees offer. Fortunately, the court ruled out in favor of the greater good.
Again, there was no urgency or public clamor asking for the road widening of MNR. As provincial administrator Rafael Howard Baraan pointed out, we already have the Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEx). If people want a relaxing and scenic drive, they can take the MNR; if they need to reach to their destination faster, they could take the TPLEx route. There is no desperate need for the MNR to be widened. Pangasinan Historical and Cultural Commission commissioner Virginia Pasalo also correctly pointed out, “the road-widening is only for 2% of the populace owning vehicles” while the trees are part of our cultural heritage.” Good thing, the provincial board reiterated the sense of its resolution, sparing the more than 700 remaining trees along MNR.
The argument that the funds are already available for the MNR widening project cannot hold. I’m certain the national government can easily find something else that needs the budget more, like our farm-to-market roads or our irrigation systems. But please, spare the trees. As Joyce Kilmer wrote, “Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”
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