Felled importance
Customs have shown that people depend more on vehicular transportation on a regular basis resulting to heavier traffic. Issues about traffic situation here and there have always been in the news, prompting a good number of government units to produce what they believe is a concrete plan to combat the ever-irritating traffic woes: wider roads.
Road widening is known to be one of the solutions on how to decrease heavy traffic. We all know that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is the one that issues tree-cutting permits in case some parts of the environment should, sadly, pave way for industrial development. We also know that DENR issues the same kind of permits to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in which they can allow them to chop down the trees which will be affected by, in DPWH’s words, "the road to development."
Some instances, however, have shown that the DENR does not place their judgment well on whether an agency, particularly the DPWH, is allowed to chop a good number of trees down for the sake of having wider roads.
It can be recalled in 2014, different environmental groups and activists in Bulan, Sorsogon protested against the seeming disregard of the DENR and DPWH for the environment after being allowed to chop down hundreds of centuries-old trees for a road-widening project in Sorsogon’s third-class municipality. Little does the DPWH and local officials there know is that they have not only how they overlooked its importance for the environment, but for the supposed benefits tree lanes give.
Among those benefits is that trees, especially those that already reached the centennial mark, serve as a natural barrier that can prevent further casualty when a stronger storm comes–a lesson that should never be forgotten following the wrath of Typhoon Yolanda three years ago.
But it seems that DENR and DPWH have done it again, with the massive road widening project in Rawis in Legazpi City, in which some centennial trees have been felled or scheduled to be felled once the DPWH gets its go. Quite ironic though, that both the DENR and DPWH regional offices are just across the same road where a handful of centennial trees have been or will be chopped down soon. It seems that the environmental bureau is unable to practice whatever they preach.
Indeed, road widening is one of the fastest solutions. However, when taking steps to attain its positive effect, the impact will most probably remain unseen. Ironically, one of the many effects brought by road widening is the worsening of traffic situation during the process. Yet we still ignore them as we are already blinded by only the industrial benefits that will come as a result.
