CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – As former Gov. Eddie Panlilio and other environmentalists literally hugged acacia trees to prevent them from being cut along the MacArthur Highway here the other night, Public Works Sec. Rogelio Singson ordered a stop to the tree cutting which is part of an ongoing project to widen the highway from four to six lanes.
Alfredo Tolentino, regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Singson issued the order amid continuing protests led by the Save the Trees Coalition (STC). Panlilio, he said, had directly appealed to Singson for the order.
“We will not implement the project along MacArthur anymore even up to next year. We plan to have more dialogues with the protesting sectors,” Tolentino said, adding that his office even intends to undertake tree planting activities in an area still to be identified in this city.
STC members and supporters expressed surprise over the resumption of tree cutting along the highway, as they noted an agreement reached last July with DPWH and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to cease from removing the trees without stakeholders being first consulted.
STC volunteers, led by Cecille Yumul, said they were surprised when government men again resumed the cutting of trees, mostly at night. Over 20 more trees have been cut along the MacArthur highway in this city, she reported.
Eugene Orejas, executive director of the civic group Center for Emergency Aid and Rehabilitation, said Panlilio and other environmentalists physically barred tree cutters wielding chainsaws and operating heavy equipment from further cutting the remaining trees, after no less than 100 of them were already felled along the MacArthur Highway from Pampanga’s boundary with Bulacan up to this city.
More trees had already been cut along the segment of the MacArthur Highway in Bulacan were the project had been already completed.
Panlilio said Singson also called him up to convey the order to stop the tree cutting.
DPWH officials said that the widening of the MacArthur Highway was part of government plans to improve infrastructure in Central Luzon amid the expected influx of both tourists and investors amid plans to eventually transform the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) at Clark freeport as the country’s premiere airport.
Proponents of the widening of the old MacArthur Highway said earlier at least a thousand more acacia and other trees along the road in this province will have to be felled up to next year so as to complete the Pampanga segment of the project which is expected to further boost local investments.
Rene Romero, president of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PamCham) and member of the Regional Development Council (RDC) said that the road-widening project will push through as it already has all clearances and permits from the national and local governments.
He said that supposedly only trees, mostly acacia, along a six-kilometer stretch of the MacArthur highway from Barangay San Nicolas to Barangay Saguin here area were slated to be cut, as the DPWH has funds only for the segment of the highway which is being widened from four to six lanes.
“Our agreement is that the DPWH cannot cut trees unless it already has funds for widening segments of the MacArthur highway,” he said, noting that the entire project already has clearances from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and permits from local governments traversed by the highway.
Romero said that the DPWH’s budget for widening the San Nicolas-Saguin stretch is from a P441-million allocation, although he could not immediately say whether the fund is from the Road User’s Tax (RUT), a portion of which is being remitted by the regional office of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to the DPWH for the maintenance and upgrading of the MacArhur highway.
The annual remittances started way back in 1995 upon the recommendation of the RDC which found out that the LTO in Central Luzon raised from P900 million to P1 billion annually from RUT, he added.
Noting that the widening of the MacArthur Highway was already finished in Bulacan, Romero said that the portion of the highway in Pampanga towards the north is supposed to be completed by next year.
Alfredo Tolentino, regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Singson issued the order amid continuing protests led by the Save the Trees Coalition (STC). Panlilio, he said, had directly appealed to Singson for the order.
“We will not implement the project along MacArthur anymore even up to next year. We plan to have more dialogues with the protesting sectors,” Tolentino said, adding that his office even intends to undertake tree planting activities in an area still to be identified in this city.
STC members and supporters expressed surprise over the resumption of tree cutting along the highway, as they noted an agreement reached last July with DPWH and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to cease from removing the trees without stakeholders being first consulted.
STC volunteers, led by Cecille Yumul, said they were surprised when government men again resumed the cutting of trees, mostly at night. Over 20 more trees have been cut along the MacArthur highway in this city, she reported.
Eugene Orejas, executive director of the civic group Center for Emergency Aid and Rehabilitation, said Panlilio and other environmentalists physically barred tree cutters wielding chainsaws and operating heavy equipment from further cutting the remaining trees, after no less than 100 of them were already felled along the MacArthur Highway from Pampanga’s boundary with Bulacan up to this city.
More trees had already been cut along the segment of the MacArthur Highway in Bulacan were the project had been already completed.
Panlilio said Singson also called him up to convey the order to stop the tree cutting.
DPWH officials said that the widening of the MacArthur Highway was part of government plans to improve infrastructure in Central Luzon amid the expected influx of both tourists and investors amid plans to eventually transform the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) at Clark freeport as the country’s premiere airport.
Proponents of the widening of the old MacArthur Highway said earlier at least a thousand more acacia and other trees along the road in this province will have to be felled up to next year so as to complete the Pampanga segment of the project which is expected to further boost local investments.
Rene Romero, president of the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PamCham) and member of the Regional Development Council (RDC) said that the road-widening project will push through as it already has all clearances and permits from the national and local governments.
He said that supposedly only trees, mostly acacia, along a six-kilometer stretch of the MacArthur highway from Barangay San Nicolas to Barangay Saguin here area were slated to be cut, as the DPWH has funds only for the segment of the highway which is being widened from four to six lanes.
“Our agreement is that the DPWH cannot cut trees unless it already has funds for widening segments of the MacArthur highway,” he said, noting that the entire project already has clearances from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and permits from local governments traversed by the highway.
Romero said that the DPWH’s budget for widening the San Nicolas-Saguin stretch is from a P441-million allocation, although he could not immediately say whether the fund is from the Road User’s Tax (RUT), a portion of which is being remitted by the regional office of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to the DPWH for the maintenance and upgrading of the MacArhur highway.
The annual remittances started way back in 1995 upon the recommendation of the RDC which found out that the LTO in Central Luzon raised from P900 million to P1 billion annually from RUT, he added.
Noting that the widening of the MacArthur Highway was already finished in Bulacan, Romero said that the portion of the highway in Pampanga towards the north is supposed to be completed by next year.
