tagabungtod

Three weeks ago, I went to Tindalo, Mainit at the invitation of Ago Maglana who was "soft-opening" a farmhouse. Made of bamboo and other indigenous materials, this is a farmhouse which he shares with brother Nelson. It has an open living/dining area, a kitchen, a small pahuwayan bedroom, a loft, toilet and bath and two sets of stairs with perfectly measured steps on both sides of the house. Aside from the usual coconut trees, several fruit trees like mangosteen, lanzones and rambutan surround the house (click picture to enlarge).

While you may enjoy this very cute and elegant farmhouse, here is a sad story:

Driving with a couple of friends on our way to Tindalo, upon nearing Mainit poblacion, we were aghast and horrified when we found out that the trees that the late Eloy Secuya planted on both sides of the road have ALL been cut!! Telltale signs indicate it was very recent because branches and drying leaves were still strewn all over both sides of the road. A very sickening feeling overcame me because it was only three months back that I wrote about these trees in this blog (“Want To Live Another One Hundred Years?”, posted September 10, 2008). The idea of taking a picture of the “mass murder” of hundreds of 20 year-old mahogany trees immediately came to mind. But I did not have the heart anymore to stop and do it. The tree stumps were a very sorry and unconscionable sight to behold.

“Naunsa man!!”....”Buanga oy!!”.... “Sayanga ato, oy!”....”Nganong gipamutol man intawon to?” were all the incredulous questions most of us in the car could only ask. Nobody among us could provide an answer.

When we got to the farmhouse, Nab mayor Dodong Humol was there so that was the first question we asked of him. He himself did not know why those trees were cut and who might be responsible. When he passed by earlier, he said he was just as sorry and surprised as we were to find out the trees were all gone.

A week later, through a text message from Nelson who is married to Judith, eldest daughter of Eloy Secuya, we got to learn why the trees were cut. This same message is posted on the comments section of the blog article:

“Bro,

You are right, that portion of the road in Mainit lined on both sides by mahogany trees planted by Tay Eloy WAS really landong, bugnaw and very refreshing mao daghan motorists didto magpahulay/mokaon.

"WAS" because the trees had to be cut by Transco kay it was getting in the way daw sa transmission lines nila sa koryente, fyi.Bro.”

(Nelson provided this low res picture of the trees when they were still “alive”. I believe this picture was taken around noontime. See, how beautifully they shade the highway? What you don't see here in this picture is mas baga pa gyud ang kahoy sa pikas sa highway.)

Questions: Couldn’t have Transco (formerly Napocor or National Power Coporation) moved their power lines instead if only to save those trees? Couldn’t they have just trimmed those mahogany trees instead of cutting them altogether? Those trees have been standing there majestically for maybe more than 20 years, why complain about them getting in the way only now?

Is the right of government agencies, like Transco, to cut trees so absolute that it cannot be contested by private individuals? Couldn’t the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which oversees these trees, or the Department of Public Works and Highways which maintains the national road like that one going to Mainit, file a test case against Transco just so there will be a clear interpretation and implementation of the law against tree-cutting? Where do we draw the line between saving our trees and the need of government to maintain its infrastructures?

O di ba kaha giputol to kay naay taga-gobyerno nga gusto himoon tong kahoy nga negosyo? It is not an uncommon practice that some people in government make business out of our regulatory laws.

Daghang pangutana. Sa atong klaseng panggobyerno, ambot kung naay tubag..