Photo shows a pine tree’s trunk bored and laced with chemical to kill the tree, A total of 45 pine trees found in a private property showed signs of “intentional killing”. (Photo from FB page of Mayor Benjie Magalong)
Baguio City – Mayor Benjamin Magalong has ordered an investigation into the “death” of 45 pine trees while at the same time urges the filing of an appropriate charges against the perpetrators.
Together with officials of the City Environment and Parks Management Office and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Magalong surveyed a vacant private property on Legarda Road in response to a tip from a private individual on the suspected willful “killing” of the trees.
The inspection revealed a chemical substance, initially suspected to be calcium carbide (kalburo), was injected into the holes bored into the tree trunks, which triggered the death of the trees.
The mayor “That incident triggered the awareness that it is not only happening on that lot because where will they get an idea that such is possible,” and added “All the dead trees covered by requests for cutting will be where all grown trees planted on it have turned brown.”
Magalong said that cases will be filed against Gateluck Corporation for “intentionally killing” 45 fully grown pine trees on its Legarda Road property for violation of environmental laws and city ordinances.
Magalong directed an inventory of trees on public land needing to be cut to establish that no intentional killing was done.
The mayor’s assistant-in-charge of the barangays, Benjie Macadangdang, explained that “the order is to assure that request for cutting off ‘dead’ trees must first be inspected by officials from the CEPMO, CENRO and the mayor’s office to determine if there is human intervention in the death of the trees.”
He said that for construction sites or areas that are being developed, they vow to check on the status of the trees to ensure that they are not also purposely “killed”.
Macadangdang warned that “it does not mean that the trees are in a private property that the lot owner can just kill it.” (Jojo Mangahis)