Angeles City – Local environmentalists on Thursday slammed national government agencies, including the Clark Development Corp. (CDC), for allowing and “even praising” the $400-million Korean tourism estate project that destroyed trees and scraped portions of a mountain at Clark to pave the way for a 36-hole golf course.
Cecile Yumul, convenor of the Save the Trees Coalition fighting for the retention of hundreds of old trees along MacArthur Highway, said “any man-made mitigation measure is only palliative and temporary and requires millions of budget every time it is destroyed by the power of natural disasters.”
“Only the compliance and adherence to the natural law will be a permanent solution to our environmental problems,” said Yumul, stressing that the planting of more trees should be done and cutting them should not be considered amid the climate change affecting the world.
Yumul’s reaction came after the CDC, in recent statements e-mailed to journalists, disclosed that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) had “cited” the Donggwang Clark Corporation (DCC) engineering methodologies and for the 80 percent completion of the DCC’s erosion-mitigating measures at the area of the golf course at the Northwestern portion of Clark.
The CDC said at least half of the 304-hectare area leased to the DCC is for its golf course.
Yumul said the CDC and the DENR “had not learned” from the tragedies in Cagayan De Oro and Iligan cities in December last year attributed to the massive cutting of trees which caused erosions and flashfloods at the height of Typhoon Sendong, killing more than 1,200 people.
“Until we learn the tragic lessons that is unfolding before us and continue with this ‘man is mightier than nature’ stance we may as well sign off the existence of the human race,” warned Yumul.
Yumul cited a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) study done by Louie Berger that recommended the reforestation of the mountain ranges surrounding the Clark area which is a watershed.
“Only that (reforestation) will prevent a future disaster of gigantic proportions again such as the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991and its after-effects,” she added.
Yumul assailed the Aquino administration in connection with the DENR’s granting of permits to cut trees.
She said there were instances, including the cutting of trees in Apalit town and City of San Fernando, when permits to cut trees were granted by the DENR main office and not by authorities in affected areas.
“So who talks about the matuwid na daan? They are no better (than the previous administration) but in fact worse,” said Yumul, referring to the slogan of President Aquino in ridding graft and corruption in public office.
CDC ‘lying’
Sonny Dobles, president of the Alliance for the Development of Central Luzon (ADCL), said that as early as April 2012 ADCL Chairman Renato “Abong” Tayag had written the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and complained about the alleged massive cutting of trees at the DCC’s construction areas stretching up to the Sacobia area.
The BCDA then forwarded the ADCL’s letter to the CDC.
In its letter-reply to BCDA President and CEO Arnel Casanova last May 18 obtained on Thursday, CDC acting President and CEO Eduardo Oban Jr. said “there is no on-going massive destruction and killing of trees in Clark, particularly at the current development area of DCC that has obtained all necessary environmental clearance and permits from the DENR including its Environmental Compliance Certificate.”
“The DCC area is formerly the development site of the True North Golf and Country Club Project, that partially constructed a golf course in the area in 1997.
The former golf course proponent has long been gone and its lease agreement was cancelled by CDC.
The DCC is following a master development plan different from the one used by the True North project that some of the trees planted by the former golf course project were affected and had to be removed,” added Oban, chairman of the CDC board.
Dobles alleged that the CDC “could be lying based on their own statements” He said the CDC through the funds of the DCC had paid millions of pesos to farmers whose crops and trees, most of which are fruit-bearing ones, were affected by the Korean firm’s project.
‘Why did they pay farmers if they had not cut trees,” said Dobles.
“In fairness, all these problems happened way before the time of Oban. But he is the one in charge now.
Heads must roll, particularly high CDC and DENR officials involved if there were anomalies and shady deals,” he added.
Dobles said based on the ADCL’s investigation, at least 20,000 trees had been cut by the CDC for their golf course and other tourism-related projects.
The ADCL is set to file charges before the Ombudsman in connection with the DCC project at Clark, he added.
TREES ARE FINE
Yumul said the CDC and DENR should make “trees as tourist sites” instead of cutting them to pave the way for projects.
Yumul said that in Indonesia local and foreign tourists are lured to gigantic trees. She added that the Indonesia government protects and preserves trees, especially the old and big ones.
“Tourists come just to take photos of themselves (under the tree),” said Yumul. She added that at the Red Basin Park in California, the main attractions are the Redwood trees preserved and maintained for their age.
