Almost all artists and musicians in the province joined hands last Friday calling both the national and local governments to save the Acacia Trees along the MacArthur Highway in the City of San Fernando and Apalit town. The decades-old trees, believed to be 1,200 in number, are now being cut by a contractor of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as part of the agency’s road widening project. A special gathering was organized by the Kalinangan Telabastagan, a local art group that includes known installation artists Conderlos Lingat and Don De Dios, to encourage the public to condemn the cutting of these trees.
The ‘Save the Trees’ concert was graced by environmental advocates like Cecille Yumul, Bong Punzalan and Councilor Jon Juico of Minalin. Several known Kapampangan visual artists also joined the gathering like Edillardo Paras, Gerry Bautista, Long Melo, and cultural groups like the Sining Kapampangan, Aslag Kapampangan, OK Musika and more.
Although the issue of cutting the Acacia Trees along Mac Arthur Highway has already been exposed by the media for over a year now, the concert for a cause is still a welcome act if only to save the decades-old trees. I was only thinking that chances of saving the trees could have been higher should a series of activities like this was launched earlier. But again, as I have said, the effort of the artists and advocates is still a positive development in support of the Acacia trees and it sends a strong signal to the government that the people are not sleeping on important issues, especially for the environment.
In a television talk show recently, Cecille Yumul, a known environmentalist, artist, educator, Red Cross relief and rescue pro and a cultural worker, gave the DPWH a difficult fight as she lectured them on the importance of these trees and the tremendous loss we will gain from killing them.
What is more alarming on this particular issue is the fact that what our government does reflects our country’s appreciation of Mother Nature. Amid the ongoing problems on climate change and the growing concern on proper solid waste management, the Philippine government shows poor performance in terms of its campaign and programs how to help heal the planet.
And instead of coming up with eco-solutions, now ironically, the Environment department has issued an order to kill 30 to 40-year old trees just to widen the Mac Arthur Highway. This only shows our leaders’ immaturity and lack of understanding on more important issues such as global warming and climate change. Saddening, disappointing and disgraceful but true. Maybe, the young generation would have a different perspective of the world in the future. I just hope for the best because if we have this kind of leaders amongst us, I don’t want to think what lies ahead of us in the next 10 years.
On a different note, I am quite relieved to learn that the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council (SCADC) has already completed the Conceptual Land-Use Plan (CLUP) for the Subic-Clark Economic Corridor.
The SCAD Corridor Conceptual Land Use Plan (SCoLUP), which was started in September 2008, covers approximately ten kilometer (10km) wide swath with the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway at its centerline. It runs the entire length of the SCTEX and is comprised of productive/non-productive agricultural lands, minor forests and built-up areas. All in all, it covers an approximately 100,000 hectares, located in four provinces, ten municipalities and three cities being traversed by the SCTEX.
The SCADC has done the right act of consulting with Local Government Units in all the provinces, including various stakeholders from the business sector, academe, civil and civic society organizations, indigenous people, government and non-governmental organizations and other citizens’ groups as far as the planning is concerned. It is always the local people who know what is best for them. And in every project, the government will most likely solicit support from the locals should they be given participation and be made as stakeholders to share responsibility and accountability.
Some of the features of the SCCoLUP are policies that should be adopted which include among others the in-filling of built-up areas before resorting to agricultural land conversion; limitation of new developments- particularly of residential subdivisions and housing sites- to the marginally productive sloped areas; careful planning and monitoring of developments along major roads; clear definition of area of jurisdictions and early resolutions of boundary disputes; interim land uses for unproductive agricultural lands; and possible penalties for idle corridor lands.
The ‘Save the Trees’ concert was graced by environmental advocates like Cecille Yumul, Bong Punzalan and Councilor Jon Juico of Minalin. Several known Kapampangan visual artists also joined the gathering like Edillardo Paras, Gerry Bautista, Long Melo, and cultural groups like the Sining Kapampangan, Aslag Kapampangan, OK Musika and more.
Although the issue of cutting the Acacia Trees along Mac Arthur Highway has already been exposed by the media for over a year now, the concert for a cause is still a welcome act if only to save the decades-old trees. I was only thinking that chances of saving the trees could have been higher should a series of activities like this was launched earlier. But again, as I have said, the effort of the artists and advocates is still a positive development in support of the Acacia trees and it sends a strong signal to the government that the people are not sleeping on important issues, especially for the environment.
In a television talk show recently, Cecille Yumul, a known environmentalist, artist, educator, Red Cross relief and rescue pro and a cultural worker, gave the DPWH a difficult fight as she lectured them on the importance of these trees and the tremendous loss we will gain from killing them.
What is more alarming on this particular issue is the fact that what our government does reflects our country’s appreciation of Mother Nature. Amid the ongoing problems on climate change and the growing concern on proper solid waste management, the Philippine government shows poor performance in terms of its campaign and programs how to help heal the planet.
And instead of coming up with eco-solutions, now ironically, the Environment department has issued an order to kill 30 to 40-year old trees just to widen the Mac Arthur Highway. This only shows our leaders’ immaturity and lack of understanding on more important issues such as global warming and climate change. Saddening, disappointing and disgraceful but true. Maybe, the young generation would have a different perspective of the world in the future. I just hope for the best because if we have this kind of leaders amongst us, I don’t want to think what lies ahead of us in the next 10 years.
On a different note, I am quite relieved to learn that the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council (SCADC) has already completed the Conceptual Land-Use Plan (CLUP) for the Subic-Clark Economic Corridor.
The SCAD Corridor Conceptual Land Use Plan (SCoLUP), which was started in September 2008, covers approximately ten kilometer (10km) wide swath with the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway at its centerline. It runs the entire length of the SCTEX and is comprised of productive/non-productive agricultural lands, minor forests and built-up areas. All in all, it covers an approximately 100,000 hectares, located in four provinces, ten municipalities and three cities being traversed by the SCTEX.
The SCADC has done the right act of consulting with Local Government Units in all the provinces, including various stakeholders from the business sector, academe, civil and civic society organizations, indigenous people, government and non-governmental organizations and other citizens’ groups as far as the planning is concerned. It is always the local people who know what is best for them. And in every project, the government will most likely solicit support from the locals should they be given participation and be made as stakeholders to share responsibility and accountability.
Some of the features of the SCCoLUP are policies that should be adopted which include among others the in-filling of built-up areas before resorting to agricultural land conversion; limitation of new developments- particularly of residential subdivisions and housing sites- to the marginally productive sloped areas; careful planning and monitoring of developments along major roads; clear definition of area of jurisdictions and early resolutions of boundary disputes; interim land uses for unproductive agricultural lands; and possible penalties for idle corridor lands.
