Which Baguio do we want: A highland Divisoria or a health and recreation destination?

When the makeshift eatery at the top of Session Road just next to Casa Vallejo sprouted some years ago, a lot of people were surprised. How can they get away with something like that right in the middle of the city? It’s a tiny triangular piece of land which looked more like a street island, it seemed quite impossible that the small piece of property belonged to anyone, let alone titled. The bigger surprise was when that crude bulalohan underwent a facelift not too long ago – a more permanent concrete structure now stands in its place.

An ancestral land claim enabled them to do that, someone said. Having coffee with friends at the nearby Hill Station restaurant one afternoon, some joked that one day, someone might just file an ancestral land claim on the whole Casa Vallejo property.

In 1904, Cameron Forbes, a member of the U.S. Philippine Commission, was given the additional designation of being the administrator directly responsible for the implementation of the Daniel Burnham’s Plan of Baguio. At the time, Baguio had nothing much to offer visitors other than a sanitarium. Forbes’ strategy to fast track the transformation of this tiny hill station into a city was to first put an efficient transportation system between the lowlands and Baguio in place. Lyman Kennon then was already making great progress with the construction of the Benguet Road (which would eventually be named after him), so Forbes, after pressuring the Manila Railroad Company to bring their tracks closer to the foothills of Benguet to significantly cut the travel time from Manila, then pressured the colonial government to allocate funds for the purchase of a couple of Stanley Steamliners to bring up passengers from La Union all the way to Baguio.

And while the government wouldn’t allocate funds any more for the construction of more structures in Baguio, Forbes was able to get its permission to invite the private sector to step in and invest in various initiatives that would help make Baguio become a tourist destination. One of those who responded was Salvador Vallejo, who leased the property from the government and put up a hotel bearing his name just below Luneta Hill.

During the first World War, it briefly served as a detention center for German prisoners of war before returning to its original function of housing tourists during the mining boom in Benguet in the 1920’s. It was turned into a refugee center during the second World War and after surviving the carpet bombing of the city during the liberation, it served as a temporary campus for the Baguio City High School (now the Baguio City National High School).

After some time, the hotel closed down and the property was ceded back to the government. The original building that has witnessed almost all of Baguio’s entire history as a city remained standing. It closed down in 1997. In 2008, the National Resources Development Corporation expressed its intention to invite private bidders to develop the property. The City Council then tried to get Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to transfer ownership of the site to the City Government, but the bidding proceeded, with Roebling Corporation emerging as the winner. Then Mayor Reinaldo Bautista, Jr. welcomed the decision of the winning bidders to maintain the structure’s original function – a hotel, and while they planned to do some major renovation work, much of the structure, including the original façade would be maintained to respect its historical significance.

Major surprises seem to always come with the new year in Baguio – after the New Year’s revelation of SM City Baguio’s plan to remove 182 trees on Luneta Hill in 2012, now comes the news that Casa Vallejo’s current tenants are being evicted in view of the Certificate of Ancestral Land Title awarded by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to a family that claimed ownership of the property. We have heard of several major ancestral land claims in the city – the Caranteses and Luneta Hill, the Carinos and portions of Camp John Hay, etc., but we never knew that a major piece of property right in the heart of the city was being claimed too. I myself have read a lot about how Mateo Carino owned much of the land from City Hall to Camp John Hay and was quite surprised to learn that a piece of land right in the middle could belong to another family.

Allegedly, the property would now be developed into a mall. Another major piece of Baguio’s history is about to be erased forever. Another mall? That is really sad because with all the other malls in Baguio today, the city is fast becoming what it is not: a shopping center.

This shouldn’t be allowed to happen because, really, which Baguio do we really want: a highland Divisoria or the way its pioneers intended it to be: a health and recreation destination and a community living in harmony with its natural environment?

*sign the petition to save Casa Vallejho here: http://www.change.org/ph/mga-petisyon/felipe-de-leon-jr-chairman-national-commission-on-culture-and-the-arts-declare-the-1909-casa-vallejo-building-in-baguio-city-a-heritage-site-or-important-cultural-property-and-ensure-its-future-protection-and-preservation

I'm boycotting SM, remember?

And yesterday I was reminded of the reasons why by the homegrown establishments that I have been patronizing and for which I have been convincing others every chance I get to do the same.

Yesterday, all seven of us were in all over town buying gifts in time for tomorrow, Christmas Day. Except for Leon who joined us a bit later, we paired up: my wife and I, our eldest Marko and youngest Aeneas then our two daughters Sofia and Gabriela.

"Are we still boycotting SM?" Marko asked me. It's been almost two years since we last stepped inside SM City Baguio (or any other SM-owned establishment here and elsewhere, in fact). We started the boycott in January of 2012 after learning of their expansion plan that would result in the removal of 182 trees on Luneta Hill.

"I am still boycotting SM, " was my reply. I explained again to my son, as I did when the whole SM issue started, that I will never force them to boycott SM, that the decision must come from them. His question stemmed from the fact that yesterday, the city's central business district was congested - people filled almost every inch of the sidewalks and traffic was bumper-to-bumper. One must admit, if you're buying gifts for several people, SM City Baguio did offer some convenience for having the most shops under one roof. But no, my boycott's still on to protest the adverse impact that their planned expansion will have on the city's fragile environment. And so we walked up and down Session Road to do our shopping instead of up to SM, as tempting as the convenience it offered  was, to patronize homegrown shops that survived SM's huge bite into the Baguio consumer pie.

1st homegrown shopping center - after an hour or so of looking, buying, grabbing a bite, I needed to go to the bathroom and I had to pay P5.00 to use theirs. This was repeated hours later at our 3rd homegrown shopping center stop. I ask, is it legal for these establishments to charge customers for the use of toilets? Both malls have restaurants, and aren't restaurants required to provide toilet facilities free of charge? I believe any establishment that has its patrons within their premises for more than an hour should do so. Never mind what the law requires, basic decency dictates that. But, well, I shell out the P5.00 because I'm boycotting SM, remember?

Exiting our first stop, we were met by a stench so strong it made me wonder how these line of restaurants along Session Road can stand operating with that offensive smell of rotten food just outside their doors. And then I realized, they are the cause of the stench. The curb reeked of dried up rotten kitchen waste, and where else would kitchen waste come from along Session Road? From the restaurants, of course. Don't they have their own waste treatment facility? Or even just a proper sewage  system? Their own septic tank? The rotten smell could only come from kitchen waste being dumped repeatedly on the curb. Never mind that SM actually has a sewage treatment plant, because I'm boycotting SM, remember?

We stop for coffee at another homegrown restaurant where my son had food poisoning once and had to be hospitalized for days with nary an apology from the owner. But what can I do? I am boycotting SM, remember?

Checked on the car parked on along a side road and reminded myself to remind myself later to be back by 4pm to move it somewhere else before the cops steal my license plates again. Had to park the car there because we were going to be shopping for hours and if I parked it at homegrown shopping center 1, I would have to pay more than a hundred bucks. What can I do, I can't park in SM where they charge P35.00 flat for parking, I'm boycotting SM, remember?

On to our 2nd homegrown shopping center stop. Had to walk on the road, for there was hardly any space on the sidewalk which was being used as an extension of the shopping center itself and was full of merchandise waiting to be delivered to customers or being delivered by suppliers to there. Jeeps have to let passengers off in the middle of the road for the lane nearest to the shopping center is being used as a parking space for delivery trucks. I grin and bear it, because I can't be walking on the sidewalk going up Luneta Road and do my shopping there because I'm boycotting SM, remember?

We knew what we needed to get from here, so we went straight for those products, paid for it, and when we offered to use our own reusable bags, we were told by the cashier that : "bawal po sa'min yan, e, kailangang i-plastic bag yung binili niyo." What can I do? I want to help lessen the use of plastic bags that end up poisoning our land and seas, but I'm forced to use plastic bags here because I'm boycotting SM, remember?

On to our next stop. It would have been so convenient to exit on the floor that directly connects to the overpass, but we can't - "no exit, entry only." So we squeezed ourselves in between narrow lanes and throngs of shoppers and lined up to be able to get out via the one exit where we're allowed to. We finally made it out, but before we could leave the guard asked for our receipt to make sure we didn't steal the merchandise in our plastic bags. I resent being treated as a suspect instead of as a customer, but I surrender my receipt to the guard who scribbles some hieroglyphics on my receipt and allow him to check the items listed there against what I was holding, because, I'm boycotting SM, remember?

It's been hours since I last paid P5.00 to use a bathroom, and the coffee I had in between has kicked in and I needed another trip to the toilet. At homegrown shopping center 3, I pay another P5.00 for a quick bathroom break. I was reminded of the couple of times I came here to shop and parked the car in their basement parking facility - one time I forgot to have my receipt "validated," that is, have any one establishment in the building stamp it to show proof that you did buy something there and I had to pay way more than the usual charge of P35.00 for the first hour and 10 or 20 per hour thereafter. The other time was worse - I lost my receipt, and I was being charged something like a couple of hundreds for it. I didn't have enough money with me, so I had to leave my driver's license with them until I can come back to pay the full amount. I wouldn't have minded it as much if we had to go through the trouble of proving that the car was indeed mine, for I thought that was what the receipt was really for - proof that the car yo're driving is yours. But we did not, and they could've easily looked up the time I entered the parking facility in their computer where they record all cars that enter and exit the facility. But what could I do, I paid the "fine," and redeemed my driver's license because I'm boycotting SM, remember?

Clutching lots of plastic bags (and with our "un-allowed" reusable bags tucked inside them), we walked the hundred meters or so back to our car and realizing halfway that it's already past 4pm, I broke into a jog hoping that the police have not stolen one of my license plates yet (and have to pay a couple of hundreds in ransom money to get it back)... lucky break - two plates untouched.

I'm boycotting SM because of their expansion plan's impact on the environment, and yesterday I was not allowed to use a reusable bag for my purchase to lessen the plastic bags that go in our landfills... so I patronize a local mall whose tenants pollute the sidewalks of the central business district by insensitively and indiscriminately disposing of their kitchen waste right on the curb...

I'm boycotting SM too because of questionable business practices and yesterday I had to pay P5.00 twice to use a facility in two homegrown establishments, a facility that they are supposed to provide for free to their customers...

I'm boycotting SM also because of their overall impact on Baguio (from the environment to traffic to life, in general) and yesterday I had to play a deadly game of patintero with cars while walking on the road because a homegrown shopping center has appropriated the sidewalks for its private use (and I remembered that we also fought for SM to free Luneta Road, a public road which it has been closing and opening at will as if they owned it).

Boycotting all these other establishments won't do any good... I'm just one of thousands of people that patronize them.

So what can we do then? Let's talk about it...

Who's misinforming who?

Save 182 petitioned Sting to boycott SM and move his upcoming concert in Manila to a different venue by bringing SM City Baguio's expansion project that threatens 182 trees on Luneta Hill. The world-renowned musician and environmentalist eventually moved his concert out of SM-MOA and to Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Immediately, SM went on a PR blitz, claiming that the movement misinformed Sting about the Luneta Hill issue. And while most international media outfits reported the news about Sting's support of the protest movement, local media outfits focused on SM's allegation of misinformation.

“For the record, SM Baguio City plans to redevelop its facilities in order to address an urgent topsoil erosion problem covering its private property to protect the integrity of its Baguio mall,” SMPH was quoted by a news report in response to Sting's decision.

This, while their own witness has testified in court that the alleged top soil erosion problem on Luneta Hill has no effect whatsoever on their mall in Baguio.

So, who's misinforming who?

SM's statement also reportedly said that, “In the process of the planned rip-rapping of the sloping area at the back of the mall, 182 trees will be scientifically earth-balled under close supervision by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and UP Los Baños forestry experts.”

Oxford Dictionaries define rip-rapping as "loose stone used to form a foundation for a breakwater or other structure." Can a building complex with a 4-storey and a 5-storey structure be considered rip-rapping? No, they are not rip-rapping, they are carving out that side of Luneta Hill for their expansion project.

Pray tell, who's misinforming who?

Earlier this year, they claimed over and over again that their expansion plan is LEED-certified. They have since changed their tune now claiming that it is actually merely LEED-registered, after a member of the Save 182 movement received a letter from the US Green Building Council stating that while SM has applied for it, the US-based organization has not issued a certification.

No, really, who's misinforming who?

On the night of April 10, they continued the removal of trees they started the previous night, claiming that they have yet to receive the TEPO issued by the court earlier that day. The truth is, they refused to receive the court's order here in Baguio, claiming that it should be served to their lawyers in Manila. This despite the fact that other official communications regarding their project from other government agencies were received here in Baguio, except the TEPO.

Come on, who's misinforming who?

“The issue on the relocation of the trees within the privately owned SM Baguio property, is pending before a Baguio court, and SM is focused on defending its legal rights,” SM further said.

And so are we - determined to defend our city from corporate greed. It's our moral obligation and right to do so.

We'll be watching

Photo by Leon Karlos Altomonte

Getting the permit for the event wasn’t a walk in the park, it was as if nobody in City Hall wanted to have any part with it. “I’ll Be Watching You,” as we decided to call the event, borrowing from a line from one of Sting’s more famous songs, was going to be a concert of sorts that would celebrate Baguio’s natural beauty and environment. But with the current environmental issue involving the city’s biggest commercial center, Luneta Hill and the 182 trees there (now down to 133), we knew that we couldn’t keep the concert from taking on the character of a protest action, so we decided to mention in our request for a permit to hold the event at the Igorot Park that it was gong to be a rally.

As with all our previous rally permits, we went to the City Administrator’s office. After being informed that the “rally” will be stationary, the office informed us that there’s no need for a “rally permit” and we were directed to request for permission for the use of the park directly from the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO). There we were told to go to their Burnham Park office, where we were told to go back to CEPMO. We drafted a new letter addressed to the head of CEPMO detailing our predicament. When we went back to follow up on our request a few days later, we were told that we should have applied for a permit with the City Administrator’s office. With only a couple of days before the event, we were back to square one.

Photo by Leon Karlos Altomonte

Photo by Leon Karlos Altomonte

But thanks to the accommodating personnel at the CEPMO and the Office of the City Mayor, we did eventually get our permit, and at noon of November 1, 2012, we hauled our musical instruments and sound equipment to the Igorot Park and started setting up for the concert scheduled at 4:00pm.

We knew that people would be asking what the concert was all about, so we prepared flyers to be handed out. In a couple of weeks, after marathon hearings that started in July and ended last October 5, the court will decide whether an expansion project that will cause the removal of decades-old trees on a hill should be allowed or not. The case was filed by concerned citizens and organizations with the sole intention of saving the lives of 182 trees which have been condemned for being in the way of a parking building and commercial center.

Chris Donaal, lead counsel in the environmental case filed against SM City Baguio, performes with his band, Daluyon - Photo by Leon Karlos Altomonte

There weren’t thousands of people this time. No protest slogans. No confrontations with a phalanx of policemen protecting a monument to crass commercialism. That afternoon, there were songs and poetry for and in behalf of those trees which cannot defend themselves from one artificial person’s desire for more money. And with international artist, Sting, supporting our cause, and the proud Igorot warriors standing tall behind us, we know we are not alone in this struggle.

Photo by Leon Karlos Altomonte

The concert ended as peacefully as it started. It was a wonderful experience, and we’d like to do it again, and again… and again.

A matter of principle

For a while, I did flirt with the idea of running for an elective position. After seeing the way the council sweep the issue of SM City Baguio's expansion under the rug, Baguio's natural environment, heritage and dignity need a genuine representative in our local government.

I envisioned a campaign that was to be run strictly according to the law and Comelec rules and regulations. Very strictly. Campaign expenditures will be within the limits that the law dictates, no posters or streamers will go a fraction of an inch beyond the allowed sizes. There will be no television or radio ads at all for with the prohibitive cost of airing an ad on mainstream media, either a candidate will end up using up his campaign spending limit and have nothing left for other campaign expenses, or they will be forced to doctor their expense reports and submit false statements to the Commission on Elections.

Friends and family thought it was a good idea – to run a clean campaign, but most of them agreed that it also almost guarantees a loss. See, the norm when it comes to elections is to go around the law to ensure a win. And it’s not just about overspending and oversized posters and streamers - it’s also about directly bribing voters, handing out envelopes with money to community leaders. The list goes on.

Yet, I was adamant – if running a clean campaign would result in a loss, then let it be. I’d rather do right and lose than do wrong and win a seat I didn’t deserve. It’s a matter of principle.

But, at the end of the day, I backed out. Primarily because the struggle that was started early this year to save the trees on Luneta Hill from corporate greed isn’t over yet. If I filed my certificate of candidacy, I wouldn’t be able to help continue advocating this cause anymore.

So now, as a voter, that would be at the top of my criteria for candidates in the coming election: principles. If you don’t have it, then that’s one less vote from me for you. If you’re the candidate who will commit a single, no matter how minor, infraction during your campaign; or one who easily switched political parties to advance your own selfish interest at the expense of what it was you stood for in the past; or one who brandished a gun in public to intimidate a helpless citizen; or one who bullies others because of your belief that you’re above everyone else being a politician; or one who never stood for anything in the past and is only running now for power – you don’t have my vote.

If not one candidate can live up to that primary criterion, then so be it: I shall abstain. Baguio's at a point of no return now, we need no less than genuine public servants. We definitely do not need another term with trapos, traditional politicians, including those those novices who are clearly showing signs of being trapos in the making this early.

Taking from Padre Florentino’s speech in the last chapter of El Filibusterismo, Malou Jacob wrote at the end of her play, “Pepe”: “Malinis at walang bahid-dungis ang kailangang maging buhay na alay upang ang handog ay maging karapat-dapat.”

You lose some, you win some

Now SM is claiming that Sting was fed with “disinformation,” according to various reports in several national dailies. For those who missed last week’s shocker, internationally renowned musical artist and environmental activist, Sting, upon learning of Save 182’s struggle to save the trees on Luneta Hill that are on deathrow for being in the way of SM City Baguio’s expansion plan, decided to join the boycott and moved his concert from SM-MOA to Araneta Coliseum.

First, let us not forget that what the movement did is no different to what SM has been doing, with their unlimited resources, ever since they thought of defacing Luneta Hill for more money: engage in relentless public relations efforts to make the backhoe-ing of trees for a parking and commercial building acceptable to the public. No doubt they’ve managed to convince a lot of people including  journalists and columnists, both local and national, judging from the number of news reports and articles that have come out praising SM to high heavens for having the “heart” to kill the 182 trees slowly via earthballing instead of giving them swift death by simply cutting them. Save 182 cannot match their PR war-chest, so the movement takes advantage of whatever mass communication means available to them – in this case, the internet.

After the online petition was created, Atty. Cheryl Daytec-Yangot wrote directly to Sting’s agents to bring the cause to the artist’s attention – and get Sting’s attention, Yangot did. According to SM-MOA’s representative, the decision to get the concert out of SM-MOA was made by the artist himself. The thing is, we wouldn’t even have known that if not for that statement. So for that, thank you, SM.

Secondly – come on, do you really believe that Sting will make that kind of decision without verifying the facts for himself? This guy, together with his wife, founded the Rainforest Foundation, and not as a mere “Corporate Social Responsibility” charade, but to help fight for communities around the world whose “livelihoods and cultures depend on their natural environment.” You really believe that Sting based his decision solely on the letter that was sent to him? You’ve got to give the guy a bit more credit than that.

But that’s SM’s PR machine at work, no surprise there. And here is where the internet, particularly social networking sites such as Facebook, becomes almost an even playing field. While Save 182 can’t afford expensive professional spinmeisters like the ones working for SM, the movement can take advantage of free public wi-fi connections (yes, including SM City Baguio’s) to air its advocacy on the World Wide Web. While there’s no doubt that through their PR efforts, SM has been able to get the support of most government institutions and officials, most of them defending the expansion project not just in the media but even in court, Save 182 got Sting.

You win some, you lose some.

As for Save 182, we are very thankful and honored that someone like Sting, known worldwide not only for his music but also for his environmental advocacy, supports the protest against the removal of trees on Luneta Hill for SM City Baguio's expansion plan.

You will never understand

They're earthballing, not cutting. 

That's just 182 trees.

Think of the economic benefits that a mall expansion would bring. 

With all due respect to those putting in their two cents' worth regarding SM City Baguio's expansion plan that will result in the removal of trees on one side of Luneta Hill, the carving of that whole side of the hill and the building of a huge concrete structure in the area, but if you don't live in Baguio, you probably would never understand why we are doing all we can to oppose the project.

You probably won't understand why we're here because unlike in big cities where people's homes are limited within their concrete fences or condominium units, our home goes beyond the boundaries of our respective houses. The hills we climb, the trees we rest our tired bodies against or take shade from the sun under, the trails we walk on, the mountains that shelter us, the earth the carries and nurture us - that's our home. Luneta Hill is part of our home. 

You probably won't understand because to you, the "City of Pines" is merely tagline. To us living in Baguio, the pine trees are our heritage and pride. 

You probably won't understand because while other cities exist for the things that were built there, Baguio existed and continue to exist because of the things we left untouched. its natural beauty is Baguio's raison d'etre, take that away and you take away the very soul of our city.

And while we live in one of the most beautiful cities (yet) in the country, we live in constant danger - the mountains are alive, so we strive to keep a perfect balance between our own needs and desires and nature's limitations. The mountains will protect us from tempests one day and bury our homes in mud the next. Every year we get isolated from the rest of the world when landslides block all paths to and from Baguio. The trees in our home help protect us from all that. 

You probably won't understand for you have never experienced the amount of rain we get every year - the trees help keep most of that rain from flooding our home. 

You probably have never seen an entire road disappear under water, with currents strong enough to bring down with it huge boulders and so much earth - the trees help keep much of that water from washing away homes and claiming precious lives. If you've never lost a loved one, a friend, a neighbor, a friend of a friend, due to nature's wrath, you will never understand.

You probably don't know while nature blessed us with an abundance of live-giving/nurturing/protecting trees, much of the trees in our home were planted by the same people who are now doing all they can to defend them: from our forefathers before us to our own children today, with their own hands, on their knees, scooping earth with their own hands, gently placing each seedling in, and taking care of each one of those young plantings to make sure they grow to be the majestic and beautiful living beings they can be. 

And you expect us no to do anything when a corporate entity, an artificial person owned by the richest man in the country, want to remove these trees for being in the way of more money? 

If you have no clear idea of our way of life up in the mountains of Baguio, then your opinion, with all due respect, means nothing.  

  

Sting and the Baguio Pine Trees

I missed his first two performances in the Philippines, so when I learned that he's performing here for a third time I was excited. Until I learned that he will be performing at SM-MOA. Our family and friends in Baguio have been boycotting SM since they announced their expansion project late last year that would involve the removal of 182 trees for a commercial complex and parking building. Which meant I wouldn't be able to watch him again this time.

An online petition was started,( https://www.change.org/petitions/sting-can-t-be-saving-rainforests-and-enabling-sm-to-rape-the-environment-at-the-same-time )while Atty. Cheryl Daytec-Yangot wrote to Sting's agents in the US about the issue of SM's expansion project.

"Dear Alicia,

Thank you so much for entertaining my phone call. You must receive a lot of calls everyday but you took time to listen to what I had to say. I am glad you gave me your email address. I first called Creative Artists' Agency in Los Angeles, California but I was directed to your office. I was told to speak to a certain Mr. Arthur Fogal who is a manager of Sting.

As I told you over the phone, many of us -human rights and environmental justice advocates- in the Philippines are not happy that Sting is going to hold a concert in the SM-Mall of Asia. This is not about Sting; it is about the venue. Maybe it was chosen because it is one of the world's ten biggest malls. But there are things Sting urgently needs to know.

To convince you that I am not a fraud -and I am sure you receive a lot of emails from frauds-, let me tell you a few things about me. A founding member of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers which is the biggest organization of human rights lawyers in the Philippines, I am currently an international Hubert Humphrey fellow in the US. I am now based in the University of Minnesota. I used to be the lead lawyer in two environmental cases against SM Investment Corporation and SM Prime Holdings-the corporations which own SM Mall of Asia- because of SM's plan to cut down 182 fully grown trees to expand a mall in Baguio City, the summer capital of the Philippines. NUPL continues to litigate the cases. The site of the expansion is the very birthplace of Baguio City and is believed to have been acquired fraudulently by SM. The planned expansion was temporarily stopped after we got a temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) in April 2012 which SM defiled (which was why a spontaneous rally of more than 6000 people was held on April 10, 2012). SM had to obey the court order but not after it cut down more than 40 trees in the dead of night, behind walls to obstruct public view of what was happening while we were holding a vigil, crying and making appeals for the trees and environment. The cases are still being heard. The lead counsel is now Mr Christopher Donaal.

Sting is a well-loved musician among human rights advocates and believers all over the world including the Philippines. This is foremost because he speaks the voice of the marginalized and disadvantaged. A lot of times, it was because of him that stifled voices were amplified. This happened each time he exposed injustice, iniquity, and inequity in his songs. The world's oppressed classes owe Sting so much. And now, in behalf of the disadvantaged, we ask him to do something for them again.

There is an ongoing online petition asking Sting for a change of venue of his concert which also shows a video of the April spontaneous rally of thousands that surprised even us who made a public call for a mass indignation action. In the video, you will see the police trying to stop us because we had no permit -there was no time to get one- but we persevered and the police had no choice but to allow us although they kept close watch. This petition was initiated by Project Save 182, the movement based in Baguio City, Philippines, which NUPL is representing in court. Project Save 182 was born on January 20, 2012 when more than 5,000 people gathered to protest the planned expansion so soon after it was made known. You see, Alicia, SM and the government kept things under wraps. Public consultations as mandated by Philippine law and even international law were not conducted and the project does not bear the stamp of social acceptability. Since 20 January 2012, the people have not stopped protesting even without any financial resources. Lawyers gave their services for free. Students missed their classes to join protests. And believe it or not, our relentless opposition sparked the birth of a nationwide "Boycott SM movement." Rallies have been held all over the Philippines to support us.

I am worried that the petition might not reach Sting which is why for the last few days, I have been looking for ways to reach him. I hope I found the channel in you. Alicia, the people of a historical city of almost half a million people are fervently praying that something can be done. Please do something. Sting said and we agree wholeheartedly, "If you really want to define civilization it should be a culture that doesn't destroy its environment. If you burn down the kitchen one day and expect to eat the next, it is not even intelligent, let alone civilized."

Thank you so much,

Cheryl L. Daytec"
A letter was also sent to Sting's Rainforest Foundation:

from: Karlo Marko Altomonte
to: info@rainforestuk.org
date: Sat, Sep 29, 2012 at 1:21 PM
subject: Sting's concert in Manila and the trees of Baguio City

I am writing you as a member of the Save 182 Movement, a group of concerned citizens of Baguio CIty, Philippines, which has been at the forefront of the protest actions against the expansion plan of the country's biggest mall chain, SM Supermalls, which threatens the life of 182 trees on historic Luneta Hill, Baguio City to build a parking building and a commercial complex.

The expansion site is host to full grown Benguet pine trees that are among the very few remaining forest covers of the city's central business district. It also lies directly above a university and several other schools. The removal of the trees on Luneta Hill will result in a significant increase in air pollution in the area and threatens the safety and welfare of the students and residents nearby with the increased risk if landslides and flooding due to a significant decrease in the prevention of water run off.

We are appealing to Sting, through your organization, to reconsider holding his concert at the Mall of Asia, the biggest mall in the country and one of the biggest in the world that sits on reclaimed land off Manila Bay, which is owned by SM Supermalls. We believe that holding his concert in the said venue will significantly affect the credibility of his environmental advocacy in the eyes of the people of Baguio and the Philippines.

In our struggle to defend our city and our heritage from corporate greed and crass commercialism, we shall remain,

Yours sincerely,

And then, this: http://news.yahoo.com/sting-stung-by-felled-baguio-trees--drops-venue-of-manila-concert.html

Thank you, Sting, for helping us defend our environment, our heritage, our home. And now, I just need to save up for the tickets and hopefully I can see you this time at a different venue.

An Open Letter to one Engr. Bien Mateo

I don’t think we were ever introduced personally, but having seen you take the podium at the City Council, at press conferences, and the witness stand in court in defense of the removal of trees on Luneta Hill, never failing to enumerate the various reasons SM City Baguio is doing the expansion plan, I believe it is safe to presume that you are the main proponent of this project.

And though you carry the title of “Engineer,” I don’t know your exact area of expertise as an engineer, so before I go on, let me first share with you the very first of the fundamental principles of the Code of Ethics of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers: “Using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and the environment.”

I would also like to share with you the first of the Fundamental Canons that the institute subscribes to: “Civil engineers shall uphold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their duty.” The canons also prescribe that civil engineers “shall issue public statements in an objective and truthful manner.”

Now, you said that the expansion is being done to address soil erosion problems on Luneta Hill. But instead of cutting down or removing the trees in the area through earthballing, then carving out that part of the hill before pouring concrete all over it, wouldn’t it be more prudent, sensible and sustainable to plant more trees to help stabilize the soil in the area, not to mention further enhance its aesthetic and real estate value?

You also said that with this project, SM City Baguio wants to help ease traffic in the Central Business District (CBD). Is a parking building really the answer? We know that SM Investments Corporation is among the biggest and richest corporations in the country, why not consider pouring in money for an efficient loop public transport system within the CBD that the public could use for free? This would lessen the jeeps that enter the CBD, and greatly improve the air quality in the area and I just can’t see how a new concrete structure designed to attract more human and vehicular traffic in one area achieve that.
You also said that this expansion will help boost the city's tourism industry. Would earthballing pine trees to build a new commercial complex in what has been known for a century as the City of Pines really serve that purpose? Can’t SM, with all its money, instead help bring back Baguio's old glory by investing in the city's re-greening efforts, the preservation and enhancement of our parks and other open spaces. How about helping address the city's garbage woes (besides, SM is one of the biggest contributors to the city's waste production)? This will make Baguio beautiful again, and tourists will definitely start flocking to our city, which would also benefit SM City Baguio.

One thing you almost always fail to mention during your presentations is that this expansion is being done to boost SM City Baguio’s revenues. Does SM City Baguio, already the biggest commercial center in Baguio, really need the extra profits? Are the Sys really that desperate that they will trample on the people's sentiments, rights and welfare for money?

Remember that profit isn’t always about having more money in the bank. Can you imagine the amount of goodwill SM will generate in Baguio if you forego your expansion plan, save the trees on Luneta Hill and do any one or all of the above instead?

That goodwill, all the money of the Sy family cannot buy that. But their, along with your conscience, sense of decency and genuine concern for the future of this beautiful city and its people can.

Justice!

After presenting their final witness last Friday, October 5, 2012 – SM Investments Corporation, SM Prime Holdings, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, defendants in the environmental case filed before Judge Antonio Estevez of Branch 5 of the Baguio RTC, the trial came to an end. Soon, the court will rule for or against the expansion plan; for or against SM; for or against the trees on Luneta Hill; for or against the environment; for or against the thousands of concerned citizens who are simply begging for the lives of 182 life-nurturing trees to be spared.

The court may tell the rich and powerful in this country that the welfare of the people may not be sacrificed for the benefit of one artificial person that is SM City Baguio, or tell us to our faces that money, lots and lots of money, can buy anyone the right to disregard the welfare and sentiments of a community.

The court may send the message that even if all the other institutions in Baguio seem to have turned their backs on the people – the police who never failed to form barricades to protect SM from protesters peacefully expressing their opposition to the murder of trees, the city executive who told the people again and again that he cannot do anything about the situation, the majority in the city council who chose to sweep the issue under the rug, the supposed members of the so-called Fourth Estate who chose advertising revenues over principles and a sense of responsibility and duty to inform the people of the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – the people can still seek refuge in the country’s justice system. Or it may reinforce the message that the people’s right to a healthful climate and environment is not reason enough to stop anyone from satisfying their insatiable hunger for money.

Citizens, children, students, teachers, artists, the clergy, volunteer lawyers, the men and women who walk the streets of Baguio - they are the plaintiffs in this case. They were their own witnesses, they were their own counsels.

Most of the testimonies for the prosecution were objected to by lawyers belonging to the country’s top law firms – I, for one, was prevented from testifying on Luneta Hill’s being part of the city’s heritage and history. And all I wanted to say was that on that same hill the city’s pioneers built the very first structure, a sanitarium, that springboarded Kafagway’s transformation from a rancheria into the chartered city we now know as Baguio; that the Americans who envisioned Kafagway to become a hill station planted trees on and landscaped the hill to enhance the sanitarium, and that doctors at that facility believed that the Baguio’s cool mountain air miraculously aided in the healing of patients who braved the long and arduous journey from Manila to come to Luneta Hill to get well. But I didn’t have a college degree, unlike the lawyers of Fortun, Narvasa & Salazar and ACCRA law offices, as their lawyers pointed out in court, and neither did I have a title such as Atty., Engr., Arch., and therefore, in their eyes, I was not qualified to testify on such things.

On the other hand, the defendants presented several “educated” persons along with so-called public servants who took the stand to defend the interest not of the public but of the richest man in the country.

And after hearing attorneys, architects, engineers including one who claim to be of the environmental kind testify to defend SM’s right to do as they please – carve out almost half the hill if they want to, cause the death of 182 trees if they want to, simply because they’ve got a piece of paper with Malacañang’s signature on it that says “Deed of Absolute Sale,” I have never been prouder of the fact that I did not get my education inside the same classroom as these people.

Justice for the trees! Justice for Luneta Hill! Justice for Baguio!

Infestation in Baguio

SM City Baguio’s latest justification for removing 182 trees on Luneta Hill for their parking lot: with the presence of the dreaded Ips Caligraphus infestation, the trees are going to die anyway. 

Let’s go back to the beginning of this battle between the people of Baguio and the future of their city on one side and SM City Baguio’s insatiable greed for money and utter disregard for the natural beauty, heritage and dignity of their host city and the welfare of its people on the other. 

When the issue was first brought to the public’s attention, they said that they’re ridding one side of historic Luneta Hill of trees for a parking lot. But when the protest movement started gaining ground, and perhaps realizing that their argument provides the protesters with the perfect anthem in Joni Mitchell’s song, Yellow Taxicab (“they paved paradise to put up a parking lot”), they changed their tune – it’s not “merely” a parking lot, it’s an expansion project that would include more commercial stalls that will benefit the city of Baguio. How so? The parking building will help ease traffic within the central business district (how when even the current size of SM already congests Upper Session Road, and the new facilities would even jam more people and vehicles in the area?). The additional shops would provide jobs (the kind where you’re deprived of your rights as an employee through contractualization). The expansion would mean added revenues to the city (SM City Baguio pays its taxes to Cavite where their corporate headquarters is located). Of course they intentionally omit the part about the amount of money this expansion will bring in for Henry Sy and his minions, and that this is actually the main reason for the expansion.

When the focus of the protest zeroed in on the 182 trees that they have put on death row, they trumpeted their plan to have a “sky garden” that they claim would mitigate the effects of losing 182 full grown trees. Still, the people were not fooled, for how can potted ornamental plants match the benefits of full grown pine and alnus trees? 

A case was filed against them and the government agencies responsible for enabling SM to do as they please with the property they have acquired under questionable circumstances.

Petitioners, wearing green arm bands, at the court hearing on Sept. 25 to show support
for the volunteer lawyers led by Atty. Chris Donaal and the NUPL 

And last Friday, Sept. 28, in court, they had a Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Cordillera Administrative Region (DENR-CAR) employee on the witness stand who claimed that based on their inspection of the trees at the proposed expansion site, a number of trees were infested by ips caligraphus, the dreaded pine tree killer beetle and that there are no known scientific and effective methods of addressing the infestation other than to cut and burn the infected trees. This they learned on April 3, 2012, according to the DENR employee, yet when they began earthballing operations on April 9, they did not prioritize the removal of the infected pine trees. There’s no excuse – there was no Temporary Environmental Protection Order issued yet on that day and if there really was an infestation, they could’ve removed those infected trees first and somehow prevent its spread to the other healthy trees. But did they? No, they proceeded to earthball more than 40 trees, and left the alleged infested trees right where they can threaten the remaining healthy, full-grown trees on Luneta Hill.

Or maybe that was the intention? 

And when asked what actions the DENR-CAR took upon learning of the alleged presence of an infestation, the witness replied that she didn’t know if there was any action taken either by SM or her office after she and her team submitted their findings. 

This testimony came at the heels of Engr. Bien Mateo’s, Vice President for Operations SM Supermalls, admission in court that they are building a 9-storey structure above ground, while their building permit application form indicated a 4-storey building and when their witness, City Building and Architecture Officer Engr. Oscar Flores, presented their blueprint in court, it showed a building complex with the biggest and tallest structure at 5-storeys with one basement that would hold a water reservoir with 6.9 million-liter capacity. 

All of this tells us that, indeed, there is an infestation – Baguio is riddled with lying, inefficient, corrupt pests. And we can easily rid our city of these pests simply by exercising our right in next year’s elections with the bright, green future of the city in mind. 

Yeah, it’s time we rid Baguio of these pests. 

Save 182 who?

In the days leading to the planned rally on January 20, 2012, our own group, Open Space, met and decided to not just join the rally, but offer whatever we can to make it a success. We got in touch with Dr. Michael Bengwayan, known as among the first to call the public's attention to the expansion project of SM City Baguio which would result in the removal of 182 trees on Luneta Hill.

That expansion project has been in the radar of various cause-oriented groups in the city for the past couple of years, but then, it was dismissed as a rumor or at worst, a possibilitiy that SM has been exploring. That was until SM came out with the a confirmation towards the end of 2011.

Baguio woke up to a new year with the threat of the mass murder of trees to pave the way for a parking building staring them in the face. Bengwayan started an online petition, and others started blogs, webpages, Facebook groups and fanpages to protest the expansion project.

Soon, people started calling for a public demosntration, a rally. Januay 17 was the original date, which was later moved to January 20. Some groups went ahead with a rally on the 17th, while a bigger rally was planned three days later.

Our group offered to lend a public address system for the rally. On that day, we arrived at Malcolm Square a little past noon to set up speakers and microphones. Some members of our group joined the march while some stayed at the square to man the equipment. We printed placards that day that said:

When the march reached Malcolm Square, we were overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who joined the rally: students, the religious, artists and other concerned citizens of the city who have had enough of mindless and heartless urbanization at the expense of the environment and the welfare of the greater majority. That rally was to be extended right at the entrance to SM City Baguio's humongous commercial complex.

Atty. Cheryl Daytec of the National Union of People's Lawyers speaking at the rally

Members of the group, Open Space

Dr. Michael Bengwayan being interviewed by the media

a child says it all

A policeman attempted to arrest a protester

A series of meetings were called during the days the followed. We met at the home of one of the protesters - in attendance were representatives of some of the major groups that participated in the rally. Another protest action was agreed upon - a tree planting activity, with Dr. Bengwayan's A Tree Day group providing the pine seedlings that would end in a marathon concert featuring artists from Baguio and some from Manila who symphatize with the plight of the Baguio community. That protest action, dubbed "Pine for Pine," was held at the Pine Trees of the World Park on February 5.

"Pine for Pine" tree planting activity and concert

A mass was held before the tree-planting activity

In that meeting, the need for a name for the movement was raised... the words Save the 182 Trees on Luneta Hill, Stop Corporate Greed, were floated. The people present in that meeting decided to simply call ourselves Project: Save 182.

Meanwhile, Cordillera Global Network, a local environmental and cultural group, spearheaded the filing of an environmental case against SM through its president, Glo Abaeo and lawyer/musician Chris Donaal. With the help of the Natonal Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) through Ms. Cheryl Chyt Daytec, the case was put together which was signed by dozens of individuals and other local organizations and on February 27, 2012, the case was filed at the Baguio RTC.

At around the same time, the City Council of Baguio held forums to hear both sides, which always began with a multimedia presentation by SM City Baguio that seemingly turned the council hall into an SM cinema showing SM propaganda. On the other hand, the protesters came with nothing else but committment, passion and determination to protect Baguio's natural environment and heritage.

Among the highlights of that forum was Councilor Nicasio Palaganas asking the protesters what they have done in the past to protect the environment. When the question was thrown back at him, "the question is, councilor, being a ppublic servant being paid with the people's hard-earned taxes, what have you done for Baguio's environment?" His reply: I refuse to answer that question.
Seizing every opportunity to let the city's powers-that-be know of the community's sentiments - more spontaneous protest actions followed: among others, the "Jericho Walk" on Valentine's Day; a signature drive organized by the Baguio Environmental Action Network (BEAN) during Panagbenga's "Session Road in Bloom" which gathered more than 40,000 signatures to complement the roughly 10,000 sgnatures gathered online by Dr. Bengwayan's petition and "Expose Luneta Hill" late in March and in early April which had the group gathering across the expansin site for several nights with flashlights to light it up because of rumors that SM was going to start cutting trees any day then.

In every single public demonstration, the Baguio City Police never failed to reinforce SM City Baguio's own security personnel. Armed with guns and batons and protected by anti-riot shields, they would menacingly form a barricade facing the protesters that always included students and even young children, preventing them from marching on a public road that SM has all but claimed as its own.

Valentine's Day, "Jericho Walk", apeaceful demonstration

Protesters peacefully marched on sidewalks to avoid causing traffic. But when we got to Luneta Road, SM's guards blocked the sidewalk forcing us onto to the street

"Jericho Walk" ended with a peaceful candle lighting ceremony at the Post Office Loop mini park

In the first week of April, walls were erected covering the entire expansion site. Even the veranda of the mall was walled up to hide the activities within the site from public view. And in the evening of April 9, members of the group heard the distinct sound of trees being felled on Luneta Hill. Our lawyers filed for an urgent motion for a Temporary Environmental Protection Order (TEPO) the following day: Judge Estevez of Brach 5 of the RTC was unavailable but the group was able to get the TEPO from Branch 6. In the morning of April 10, the protesters gathered on Luneta Road to protest the felling of trees the previous night. That was when we received the news that we have obtained a TEPO. Meanwhile, Court officials together with our lawyers attempted to serve the TEPO to the defendants in SM City Baguio, but their local personnel refused to receive it, saying that this should be served to their lawyers in Manila.

That same night, SM continued the removal of trees on Luneta Hill. Several members of the group tried to get the police to enforce the TEPO, but they stayed a good distance away from the confrontation between members of Save 182 and dozens of armed SM security guards and construction workers who surrounded the handful of protesters that night. A minor scuffle ensued when SM's guards started rather violently pushing us away, and seeing that the police kept a hands-off policy, and having been told by the Mayor himself earlier that night that there's nothing he can do about the situation, we peacefully dispersed and resolved to hold a major demonstration the next day.

Text messages flew back and forth and postings on various online social networking sites were passed around all night and into the next morning to inform the people of the rally.

At a little past noon the following day, people gathered at the Baguio Cathedral grounds and later proceeded to Luneta Hill to protest SM City Baguio's blatant defiance of the TEPO.

Police block the protesters from marching on a public road

On April 16, 2012, the late DILG Sec. Jessie Robredo called for a dialogue between Save 182, SM's representatives, Mayor Mauricio Domogan, Rep. Bernardo Vergara, DPWH Sec. Rogelio Singson and DENR Sec. Ramon Paje at Camp Crame. Although no common ground was arrived at during that dialogue, the group was able to get SM to agree to an inspection of the site.

At the dialogue in Camp Crame called by the late Sec. Jessie Robredo. Shown here are (l-r): Karlo Altomonte, Mike Arvisu, Armando Palijon, a so-called tree-expert who admitted not having any experience at all plating or caring for pine trees, Atty. Donaal and Atty. Daytec

This was how SM "earthballed" mature pine trees on Luneta Hill

Atty. Chris Donaal (in glasses) and Dr. Michael Bengwayan during the inspection

A mediation session was mandated by the court for the parties to try to resolve the conflict on their own. We reiterated our stand that all we want is for the trees to be spared, for the trees to remain where they are, alive. While SM would not back down from their position that the removal of trees is non-negotiable. The mediation ended in a stalemate, and the case went to court for trial.

Save 182 held several assemblies in the hope of turning the movement into a full-fledged organization, but to date, it remains what it is: a movement composed of people who care enough for their home, Baguio, and will do what they can to defend it from corporate greed and a corrupt political system that enables the likes of SM to disregard the history, heritage and welfare of the city and its citizens for money.

Today, Save 182 has rested its case and its now SM's turn to present witnesses, starting on Sept. 25, 2012.

Our position remains, THE TREES MUST STAY WHERE THEY ARE... ALIVE.

I am Karlo Marko Altomonte, an artist and a Baguio resident and I am proud to be counted as among those who have come to be known collectively as Save 182 - citizens who stood against corporate greed and in defense of Baguio's dignity, heritage and natural environment.

I root for the trees

As far as the environmental case filed against the owners and operators of SM City Baguio goes, there can only be one winner – the prosecution or the defense. The complainants or the defendants. A corporate entity owned by the richest man in the country or the community of concerned citizens who found the courage to exhaust all possible lawful and just possibilities to save a community of trees.

Fact is, Baguio’s natural environment has been under attack. There are less and less earth space in the city, and more and more pavements. There are less and less trees and more and more concrete structures. How far do we want to continue doing nothing before it’s too late? Sadly, as long as our leaders believe that the only road towards progress is by pouring concrete on every available space in the city, the quality of life in the city will continue to deteriorate until we reach the point of no return.

That’s the gist of the battle to save the 182 trees on Luneta Hill– for if the expansion project goes on, if the proponents are allowed to give the trees a virtual death sentence in the name of crass commercialism, then that’s the message that we’re sending to everyone in the community, especially the young: trees are mere obstacles to “development.” But are we really a developed city if we have less of nature and more man-made structures? Are we really better off with more parking lots and commercial buildings than open spaces where God’s creations flourish?

The answer seems to be obvious, which makes one wonder why there are only close 5,000 people during that really to protest SM City Baguio’s expansion project, when there are close to half a million people living in Baguio today. it could be bcause we have been used to quantifying things in terms of objects that are immediately visible, things we can touch, sit on, ride on, eat or eat from. We work hard and we get money in the end. We give that money to a vendor and we get goods in return, right there and then. Enough of us write this politician’s name on a ballot, and that politician sits in power for the next few years.

We don’t get to touch or immediately see the amount of fresh air that we lose every time a tree dies. We don’t see the trees sucking in the toxins from the atmosphere, the way an exhaust fan does to smoke emanating from the stove in the kitchen. We can’t put a price to how much less happy we feel when we’re surrounded by concrete buildings instead of trees.

As for me, I don’t want SM to win the case filed against them. I don’t wish for the court to uphold the permits given to them by our government to go ahead and remove the trees and build their parking lot and mall expansion. And I also don’t want for the complainants to be declared the “winners.” Because what’s at stake here are not any one person’s glory or pride, this battle goes way beyond that. And it's definitely not just about an artificial person's, or a corporation's right to earn as much money as they want. What’s really at stake here is life – the life of those trees that have nurtured the community and defended them from natural disasters for decades, and the quality of life that those trees help provide the human beings who live in this city.

At the end of the day, it’s not simply about being guilty or not guilty, winners and losers – as for me, in this battle, I root for nobody and nothing else but the remaining trees on Luneta Hill.

*my column in the Sept. 23, 2012 issue of Cordillera Today

"SAVE 182 OPEN TO 'AMICABLE SETTLEMENT' AS LONG AS THE TREES ON LUNETA HILL REMAIN WHERE THEY ARE, ALIVE"

SM City Baguio plans to embark on an expansion project that would result in the removal/earthballing and/or cutting of trees on Luneta Hill, an area that springboarded the birth of Baguio as a city and is among the very few remaining forest covers in Baguio’s central business district. On January 20, 2012, thousands of concerned citizens rallied along Session Road to voice their opposition to the project and a month later, on February 27, an environmental case against the expansion project was filed before the sala of Judge Antonio Estevez of Branch 5 of the Baguio Regional Trial Court.

The prosecution has recently rested its case and on September 26, 2012, the defendants, led by SM Development Corporation and its other affiliate corporations, along with their co-defendants – the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Environment and Natural resources, will present their witnesses in court. The case, filed by concerned citizens and organizations of Baguio represented by volunteer lawyers from the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL), hopes to save the trees on Luneta Hill which are being threatened by the proposed expansion plan of SM City Baguio.

Recently, the Save 182 movement, the lead convenor of the protest movement, has received reports from various media outfits and personnel that the primary defendant in the case, SMDC, while confident that the court will rule in their favor, is still open to reaching an “amicable settlement” with the complainants. Asked to comment, the movement reiterates that while they or their lawyers have not received any proposal from the defendants with regards to a possible “amicable settlement, “ it has always been open to reaching a compromise with SM City Baguio as long as the trees on Luneta Hill are spared and remain where they are, alive.

In the court-directed mediation sessions conducted between the parties before the trial, the complainants have repeatedly informed the representatives of the defendants of their willingness to consider alternative expansion plans that would spare the trees, but this was rejected by SMDC which considers the removal of the trees as a non-negotiable aspect of their expansion plan. The movement even cited various construction projects in the city that were able to minimize their impact on the city’s already fragile natural environment if only to stress the point that while the movement welcomes development projects in the city, these must not be done at the expense of the environment and the welfare of the greater majority.

The trees are located on a hill in the center of downtown Baguio surrounded by schools, parks and other commercial establishments, and contribute significantly to the absorption of harmful toxins in the air and water runoff in its surrounding areas preventing natural disasters such as floods and landslides.

Save 182 pins its hopes in saving the trees on Luneta Hill in the integrity of the country’s justice system, and believes that the court will rule fairly and justly according to the testimonies and evidences presented with the welfare of the city and its citizens and the rule of law in mind.

----

For further information:
Karlo Marko Altomonte, Save 182
Mobile 09993892563
Email altomonte.projects@gmail.com

The whole truth

My article in the August 5, 2012 issue of Cordillera Today

The Save 182 movement stipulated in court that several protest actions prove that the community is against the removal of trees on Luneta Hill to pave the way for SM City Baguio’s expansion project. The highly-paid lawyers of SM, together with the people’s taxes-paid lawyers for DENR and DPWH, denied it, so we endeavored to prove our claim.

I took the witness stand last week to testify on the community’s opposition to the expansion project of SM City Baguio. I brought with me video footage and photos documenting the various rallies and other protest actions against SM City Baguio, but the court and the defense lawyers prevented me from presenting these, citing various technicalities. I can’t help but be reminded of the infamous brown envelope that brought Joseph Ejercito down. 

Our lawyer then tried to have me testify on the heritage of the city including Luneta Hill. But again, the court and the defense lawyers dismissed whatever I could’ve said on the stand as hearsay, being mainly based on research and studies I made in the production of the video documentary on the history of Baguio City, “Portrait of a Hill Station.” That documentary has been endorsed by the Baguio Historical Society.

Essentially, they claimed that I cannot possibly testify on the history of Baguio City since I wasn’t personally there during the time of Baguio’s genesis as a city. So if any of you know of anyone who was present when Luke E. Wright and Dean Worcester surveyed Kafagway in 1900, please let us know.

They asked me to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth then proceeded to prevent the same from being heard in court.

The testimony that I wasn’t able to present in court, I hereby present to you, the people:

That based on various historical documents, Luneta Hill was the site of the very first structure that the Americans erected in preparation for Kafagway’s transformation into the City of Baguio. That after putting up a sanitarium on Luneta Hill, the city’s pioneers made efforts to beautify the area by planting flower gardens and trees some of which, based on their age, are among the trees that SM intends to uproot for their concrete structure. Luneta Hill, and the trees thereon, are very much part of the city’s heritage, and thus must be protected, defended and preserved.

That on January 20, 2012, thousands of residents took to the streets to voice out their opposition to the project. 

A couple of weeks later, on February 5, 2012, a tree planting activity and concert dubbed “Pine for Pine” hand more than a thousand Baguio lovers planting trees at the Pine Trees of the World Park and more than a hundred local and nationally-renowned artists performing in a concert that was held in protest of the expansion project. 

On Valentine’s Day, hundreds lit candles and joined hands and marched around SM City Baguio during “Jericho Walk” chanting “Boycott SM!” 

That several public demonstrations were held thereafter.

And on the night of April 9, 2012, SM started uprooting trees on Luneta Hill, which enraged concerned citizens who marched to Luneta Hill the following morning in protest. During that rally in the morning of April 10, 2012, our lawyers announced to the public that a Temporary Environmental Protection Order has been issued by the court but SM City Baguio refused to accept or acknowledge it. That same evening, they continued removing trees on Luneta Hill. 

That on April 11, 2012, various groups called for an assembly at the Baguio Cathedral grounds to protest SM City Baguio’s brazen defiance of the court order. Once again, numbering several thousands, the group marched to Luneta Hill to reiterate the community’s opposition not only to the expansion project but to SM’s utter disregard for the law. 

I hereby swear that all of the above information is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the best of my knowledge and belief.

So help Baguio, Kabunyan.

*with photos courtesy of Jojo Lamaria