MABALACAT CITY – Some 106 mixed varieties of trees along the MacArthur Highway from this city down to adjacent Angeles City have been marked for removal while three are set to be transferred.
Save the Trees Coalition (STC) chairperson Cecile Yumul said the mixed varieties include talisay, coconut, kaymito, santol, aratiles and some acacia trees. In a meeting with Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales last Wednesday, Yumul said the trees were identifi ed by foresters as already “hollow inside” and dangerous.
She also confirmed that three medium-size acacia trees will be “earth-balled” and transferred to the Gabay Diwa Rehabilitation Center in Angeles City.
But Yumul said the trees confirmed by foresters as sturdy will be recommended for trimming “flat top” to give them more stability during strong winds and extreme weather conditions. “They will not be removed,” she clarified.
Morales observed that the trees along the MacArthur Highway have become dangerous because their roots were exposed and cut by the recent road-widening project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Short of calling for their removal, the mayor said the stability of the trees have been greatly compromised because of the civil works.
At the height of Typhoon Santi last Saturday, several varieties of trees including a number of huge acacia trees fell on the highway taking with them power lines and cables as well as concrete and wooded electric posts rendering it impassable to all types of vehicles.
No casualties or injuries have been reported. A month earlier, at least three huge acacia trees were felled by gale force winds with one landing on top of a Mitsubishi Montero cruising along the highway almost crushing Barangay Captain Mar Tiglao and his family inside the vehicle. Although badly shaken, the family escaped unhurt from the incident with only minor scratches.
