Manila: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) assured the public on Monday that all tree-cutting activities covered by government-issued permits undergo legal review, technical evaluation, and environmental safeguards before implementation.
According to Philippines News Agency, the DENR issued the statement amid public concern over tree-cutting activities, including the approved tree-cutting and earth-balling permit for the Berong Nickel Project in Palawan and the removal of roadside trees along Quirino Avenue in Manila for the Southern Access Link Expressway (SALEX) project.
For the Berong Nickel Project, the DENR stated that 26,617 trees were authorized for cutting while 43,743 saplings were approved for earth-balling and transplanting. The tree-cutting in Berong will not be executed simultaneously but phased, with each phase accompanied by the planting of replacement trees to ensure continuous ecological recovery.
The project is noted to carry 'one of the highest mitigation standards in the country,' requiring a mandatory replacement ratio of 100 indigenous seedlings for each tree authorized for cutting, equating to at least 2.66 million seedlings. The replacement seedlings must include indigenous and mangrove species such as Pagatpat and Api-api, along with other DENR-approved native species suited to the area's rehabilitation needs.
Moreover, the project proponent is required to maintain the planted seedlings for at least three years to ensure their survival and long-term protection. Local communities are expected to participate in the planting and maintenance activities, subject to DENR validation. The project must also adhere to strict environmental safeguards, including establishing 20-meter buffer zones along waterways, rehabilitating protected and non-minable areas, and submitting geo-tagged monitoring reports. Regular inspections by DENR foresters and oversight by a Multipartite Monitoring Team composed of government agencies, local government units, communities, and civil society groups will ensure transparency and ecological recovery.
The department highlighted that these safeguards are similar to those imposed in the Quirino Avenue case, where the tree-cutting operation underwent the required environmental review, technical assessment, and consultations before a permit was issued to San Miguel Corp. for the SALEX project, aimed at connecting the Skyway to Roxas Boulevard.
In response to the tree-cutting activities, Caritas Philippines, the humanitarian, development, and advocacy arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, condemned the mass tree cutting along Quirino Avenue as an "act of ecological violence" against the people, especially Manila residents. Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, president of Caritas Philippines, urged a halt to the destructive tree-cutting, emphasizing the need to review these infrastructure projects through the lens of ecological justice and to heed the communities' reliance on these trees for survival.
The San Carlos prelate called on the public to support environmental care and hold authorities accountable, advocating for development that sustains life rather than depletes green spaces. He underscored the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, labeling the destruction of mature trees as a moral failure and a wound on the shared environment. Alminaza affirmed that the Church would continue opposing projects that harm the environment.
