CENRO sues road rehab contractor over missing S. Osmeña Blvd trees

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 yesterday filed a complaint before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office against six WT Construction  Incorporated  officers and the project-in-charge of the ongoing Sergio Osmeña Boulevard port corridor road expansion project in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.

The respondents were taken to court for violating Section 3 of the Presidential Decree No. 953 (Requiring the Planting of Trees in Certain Places and Penalizing Unauthorized Cutting, Destruction, Damaging and Injuring of Certain Trees and Vegetation) for the disappearance of trees planted in the center island of the said road.

Named respondents in the complaint were Irene U. Te, president; Willy U. Te, vice president; Julie U. Te, secretary; Juanita Y. Te, treasurer; Mary Grace Y. Te; Mary Joy Y. Te; and Adolfo V. Quiroga, project-in-charge of WTCI.

The complaint sheet was signed by Anastacio Cabalejo, the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office-Cebu City chief.

After the City Council complained against the missing trees, which supposedly should have been earth-balled and transplanted in another location, DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Isabelo Montejo issued an April 4 order addressed to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 to cease and desist any further tree cutting activities at the project site.

Road project implementor DPWH-7, through Regional Director Ador Canlas, has requested Montejo to lift the cease and desist order.

Montejo, in his letter-reply to Canlas yesterday, required DPWH-7 to produce around 7,900 seedlings and plant them at designated National Greening Program sites, as a condition for the possible lifting of the cease and desist order.

In his affidavit, Cabalejo said it is WTCI which stands to benefit, particularly of having to clear the area the easiest possible way, by simply bulldozing off the trees.

“Logic dictates that it (WTCI) should be held responsible for the disappearance of these trees, for the awardee (WTCI) will be benefited by doing it (removing the trees), for it will expedite the completion of the project, and no one would ever dare to use heavy equipment or machineries to do such things without getting advantage thereof,” read Cabalejo’s affidavit.

Section 3 of PD 953 states that “Any person who cuts, destroys, damages or injures, naturally growing or planted trees of any kind…along public roads… or areas therein for the common use of the owners of lots therein, or any species of vegetation or forest cover found therein shall, be punished with imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than two years, or a fine of not less than five hundred pesos and not more than five thousand pesos, or with both such imprisonment and fine at the discretion of the court.”

In his judicial affidavit, Felimon Embalzado Jr., CENRO Forest Utilization and Special Uses Unit chief, said that results of his April 4, 2014 re-inventory of the trees in the center island showed 79 tree species were removed and could no longer be found, while around 66 remained.

Embalzado and CENRO Forest Management Section Chief Raul Pasoc also stated in their respective affidavits that based on their interviews with several people who were in the vicinity of the road rehabilitation project, “it was a backhoe owned by WT Construction Inc. and operated by its personnel that destroyed the subject trees.”

Embalzado and Pasoc said that on April 3, they were able to confiscate some branches of trees made into 40 bundles of firewood from a Pier 5 sidewalk vendor, and some of the uprooted trees in an open space in front of Gate 3 of the same pier area.

Cabalejo further stated in his affidavit that they would present a copy of a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage of the removal of the trees with a backhoe to substantiate their claim in due time.

The Cebu City Government, which owns the footage, earlier said it would release the recording only when ordered by the court.

Embalzado and Pasoc’s inventory showed that the 79 missing trees comprise 65 fire trees, three acacias, two duhats, two mangoes, two talisay dagats, and a tree each of ficus, iba, narra, neem and yellow shower.

In a separate interview, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said the city would not file a separate complaint against WTCI even when it is City Hall which owns the removed trees.

“Kanang separate, bati na siya…may pag consolidate... mas better man tong DENR. It will now be a matter sa legal (City Legal Office) on how they (city lawyers) will assess the matter; that’s why we have City Legal Office,” Rama said

“We can join them (DENR) whenever (they need assistance); but we’re still be calling a meeting with DENR (prior to that), etcetera, so that the real direction can be pursued,” he said.—/RHM (FREEMAN)