CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – “Trees are life givers and not takers and abusers.”
Thus said Save The Trees Coalition (STTA) spokesperson and environmentalist Cecille Yumul as they vowed to block plans to cut full-grown trees along McArthur Highway.
“In case (Rene) Romero has forgotten where he comes from, we humans are just one of the creatures of this planet earth. Men like him are some of the greatest takers of our natural resources. It’s not in his power to declare who can be replaced or not or too old for that matter,” said Yumul, a long-time university professor in Angeles City and resident of Mabalacat town.
Yumul’s statements to rebut Romero came just as the STTC met with representatives of the City of San Fernando government, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the planned cutting of 25 trees here.
The city government announced in the same meeting that they will not issue permit to cut the said trees to the DPWH, according to Yumul who was at the meeting.
Yumul added that “it was on record and witnessed by reporters.” She added that the STTC “believes and takes the word of the city but will remain vigilant.”
Punto asked City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriguez for his comments through City Administrator Fer Caylao regarding the assurance of the city government that they will not issue ‘permit to cut’ to the DPWH.
“Our position is that the DENR has issued the permit to DPWH hence no need for us to issue another one,” said Caylao in a text message.
He failed to categorically answer the question of this reporter if they will not issue permit to cut asked by the DPWH for the said 25 trees.
Yumul downplayed the statements of Caylao, saying “the city administrator should have attended the meeting and avoided issuing hanging statements.” She added that “the STTC believes the assurance, at least for now.”
Yumul said most accidents involving trees along the highway were caused by “drunk drivers.”
Yumul said the national and local governments should learn from the errors of those who pushed ahead of economic progress and industry. She added that “after decades of what seemed like a progressive lifestyle, the damaging effects are now established.”
She cited the study of the Queensland University of Technology senior fellow DR. Adrian Barnett who compared fetus sizes of more than 15,000 ultrasound scans in Brisbane, Australia to air pollutant levels within a 14-kilometer radius in the city.
Barnett’s study found mothers with higher exposure to air pollution had fetuses that were, on the average smaller in terms abdominal circumference, head circumference and fermur length.
“Where pollution levels were high, as compared to those at different distances, fetuses exposed to pollutants such as sulfur dioxide found in diesel emissions, the fetus sizes decreased significantly,” said Yumul quoting the 10-year study of Barnett, Dr. Craig Hansen and Dr. Gary Pritchard which appeared in the international journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Yumul said a full-grown tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year and one acre of trees removes up to 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide each year. She added that a tree does not reach its most productive level of carbon storage for about 10 years.
“The death of a 70-year-old tree would return over three tons of carbon to the atmosphere,” added Yumul. She disclosed that the youngest trees threatened by the road expansion are about 25 years old.
Yumul also cited the capability of trees to prevent flooding in the area. She added that “they never seemed to learn from the devasting effects of typhoons Pepeng and Ondoy.”
Yumul said the recent cutting of trees along the national highway allowed the flooding of the some portions of the road.
“Never in the history of Pampanga was there any flooding in the McArthur stretch until they killed the trees,” said Yumul. She cited the recent cutting of 16 trees near the DPWH regional office and nearby areas in the city.
Citing the recent report of the DENR, Yumul disclosed that there are at least 7,000 trees along the stretch of the highway named after a US military general during World War II. She added that more than 5,000 trees are threatened by the expansion project, some 2,000 of which are in Pampanga.
Thus said Save The Trees Coalition (STTA) spokesperson and environmentalist Cecille Yumul as they vowed to block plans to cut full-grown trees along McArthur Highway.
“In case (Rene) Romero has forgotten where he comes from, we humans are just one of the creatures of this planet earth. Men like him are some of the greatest takers of our natural resources. It’s not in his power to declare who can be replaced or not or too old for that matter,” said Yumul, a long-time university professor in Angeles City and resident of Mabalacat town.
Yumul’s statements to rebut Romero came just as the STTC met with representatives of the City of San Fernando government, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the planned cutting of 25 trees here.
The city government announced in the same meeting that they will not issue permit to cut the said trees to the DPWH, according to Yumul who was at the meeting.
Yumul added that “it was on record and witnessed by reporters.” She added that the STTC “believes and takes the word of the city but will remain vigilant.”
Punto asked City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriguez for his comments through City Administrator Fer Caylao regarding the assurance of the city government that they will not issue ‘permit to cut’ to the DPWH.
“Our position is that the DENR has issued the permit to DPWH hence no need for us to issue another one,” said Caylao in a text message.
He failed to categorically answer the question of this reporter if they will not issue permit to cut asked by the DPWH for the said 25 trees.
Yumul downplayed the statements of Caylao, saying “the city administrator should have attended the meeting and avoided issuing hanging statements.” She added that “the STTC believes the assurance, at least for now.”
Yumul said most accidents involving trees along the highway were caused by “drunk drivers.”
Yumul said the national and local governments should learn from the errors of those who pushed ahead of economic progress and industry. She added that “after decades of what seemed like a progressive lifestyle, the damaging effects are now established.”
She cited the study of the Queensland University of Technology senior fellow DR. Adrian Barnett who compared fetus sizes of more than 15,000 ultrasound scans in Brisbane, Australia to air pollutant levels within a 14-kilometer radius in the city.
Barnett’s study found mothers with higher exposure to air pollution had fetuses that were, on the average smaller in terms abdominal circumference, head circumference and fermur length.
“Where pollution levels were high, as compared to those at different distances, fetuses exposed to pollutants such as sulfur dioxide found in diesel emissions, the fetus sizes decreased significantly,” said Yumul quoting the 10-year study of Barnett, Dr. Craig Hansen and Dr. Gary Pritchard which appeared in the international journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Yumul said a full-grown tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year and one acre of trees removes up to 2.6 tons of carbon dioxide each year. She added that a tree does not reach its most productive level of carbon storage for about 10 years.
“The death of a 70-year-old tree would return over three tons of carbon to the atmosphere,” added Yumul. She disclosed that the youngest trees threatened by the road expansion are about 25 years old.
Yumul also cited the capability of trees to prevent flooding in the area. She added that “they never seemed to learn from the devasting effects of typhoons Pepeng and Ondoy.”
Yumul said the recent cutting of trees along the national highway allowed the flooding of the some portions of the road.
“Never in the history of Pampanga was there any flooding in the McArthur stretch until they killed the trees,” said Yumul. She cited the recent cutting of 16 trees near the DPWH regional office and nearby areas in the city.
Citing the recent report of the DENR, Yumul disclosed that there are at least 7,000 trees along the stretch of the highway named after a US military general during World War II. She added that more than 5,000 trees are threatened by the expansion project, some 2,000 of which are in Pampanga.
