Caritas: Tree cutting direct assault on poor
Various groups protested the mass cutting of decades-old trees on Quirino Avenue in Manila for a road project, with Caritas Philippines calling it a “direct assault on the poor” who are forced to endure extreme heat amid the dry season.
The social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said in a statement the trees have served as “silent protectors” and “lungs” of the community for generations, providing shade to commuters.
By cutting them in the name of “progress,” the poor are once again asked to “pay the highest price,” Caritas Philippines noted.
“Why must ‘development’ always demand the sacrifice of the vulnerable? Why are our cities designed for vehicles and concrete instead of for children, workers, pedestrians and the elderly?” it asked.
The Department of Natural Resources earlier defended the cutting of around 600 trees for the Southern Access Link Expressway (SALEx) project that will connect the Skyway to Roxas Boulevard.
It said the operation was legally authorized and subject to strict environmental safeguards and a total of 50,700 seedlings will be planted within the City of Manila to replace the mature trees.
Legal but not moral
Caritas, however, urged the government to review infrastructure projects “through the lens of ecological justice,” stressing that “what is legal on paper is not automatically moral in the eyes of God.”
Environmental groups, fisherfolk organizations and concerned youth, meanwhile, staged a protest on Tuesday, forming a human chain around the remaining trees marked for cutting.
“Tree-cutting permits for SALEx expose how environmental governance has been reduced to rubber-stamping corporate projects,” said Cathleen de Guzman, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment national coordinator.
The group called out development projects that place heavier burdens on urban poor communities already dealing with worsening floods, rising temperatures and air pollution.
Inadequate replacement
“Promised tree replacement or offsetting measures are not enough to justify the cutting of old and large trees,” De Guzman said.
“Newly planted saplings cannot immediately replace the decades-long role these trees have played in absorbing carbon and serving as a buffer against extreme urban heat,” she added.
Fisherfolk group Pamalakaya also raised concern over the impact of large-scale infrastructure and reclamation projects on coastal communities and marine ecosystems.
“The livelihoods of fisherfolk and communities continue to be sacrificed for projects that mainly serve big business interests, while flooding worsens, marine ecosystems are destroyed, and people lose their sources of livelihood,” said Pamalakaya vice chair Ronnel Arambulo.
