Awaiting tree assessment reconciliation dialogue

Cebu CSOs, together with 28,900 signatories supporting the campaign to save the Naga trees, are still awaiting an official reply from local government, DENR-7 and DPWH-7 officials to their October 28 letter which requested for a reconciliation dialogue and moratorium on the tree cutting operations in the City of Naga, Cebu

Their letter opened with this citation from International Court of Justice Judge Christopher Weeramantry: “The environment is not an abstraction but represents the living space, the quality of life and the very health of human beings, including generations unborn. Environmental issues constitute an important element of the fundamental rights of human beings.”

Below is the text of their October 28 letter:

“Thank you for sharing your assessment with us last Friday at the Governor’s Office in Capitol. Indeed, convening all the parties in concerned in that one setting proved that dialogue between the government and the civil society organizations (CSOs) will go a long way.

After the assessment of Dr. Ernesto Militante, an expert tree pathologist, there was a concession on the part of the CSO that there are seven (7) trees that need to be cut while the twenty-one (21) others must be saved. A point of confusion during the meeting was that we did not have a clear identification of the trees due to the fact that there were several numbers which were painted on the trunk of one tree, possibly by various assessments made by different agencies.

Because of this, in that meeting, we did not agree on which trees and how many will finally be cut and preserved, contrary to the news report published in Sugbu News which erroneously pointed out that there was only one civil society organization represented and which failed to highlight the fact that the attendance of CSOs in that assessment meeting was also a representation of the 28,900 people who signed the petition to save the century old Naga trees. What was clear is that there was no conclusion about the agreed upon recommendations in the presence of the CSO in that meeting.

Instead, we respectfully reiterate to your good offices to consider the suggestion we proposed during that Friday meeting that there be a reconciliation dialogue to be attended by the representatives of the DENR, DPWH, the City of Naga and the CSOs so we can have a common identification of the trees which can be cut and those which we can still save and rehabilitate. The CSO is willing to fly in Dr. Militante back to Cebu in order that all of us will be enlightened further by his suggestions as well as his comments about the Tree Assessment Risk Framework used.”

The letter suggested the reconciliation dialogue with all concerned parties after the long holiday break, from November 5, 2019 onwards. The letter also expressed the “request that there be a moratorium of all tree-cutting operations in Naga while we are coming up with a win-win situation on this matter."

“With the 28.9 thousand signatories and CSOs, we are but concerned citizens with strong advocacy for the protection and preservation of our environment – our only home. We can only hope that like us, you will also act like your home, now under climate emergency, is under threat of destruction. We can only hope that as public servants, you will continue to uphold and protect the LAW of life – our Lands, the Air that we breathe, and our Waters.”

To our LGU and agency officials, we share this statement of 11,000 global scientists in 153 countries in independent.co.uk, “such swift action is our best hope to sustain life on planet Earth, our only home.”