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.

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

Meet Nathan

*my column in the Sept. 16, 2012 issue of Cordillera Today

Nathan Cheng

At a workshop on garbage held at UP Baguio last August 29, 2012, the issue was tackled intensively but at the end of the day, we still spend astronomical figures to take care of our garbage and we still don’t have a sustainable solution to the city’s problem. But our family wanted so much to address at least our very own household’s waste management issues, so we visited a friend’s house the other day for some help.

Let me introduce you to Nathan Cheng. He did not put up a company, nor did he promise to end the city’s garbage woes. He did not run for any position in the last elections and I don’t think he plans to seek an elective position next year. Besides, even if he harbored any political ambitions, I don’t think he can: he’s only 13 years old. And a few years ago, he came up with the Vermi-Compostable Heterogeneous Organic Waste Bin Recycling System.

Vermi-what? Vermi-C.H.O.W., for short, as he calls his vermicomposting system.

A recycled plastic container serves as a garbage bin

Worm holes: the worms go out at night to secrete waste/compost, 
then go back in and continue to eat organic waste

Vermicomposting is the “process of composting using various worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast. Vermicast, also called worm castings, worm humus or worm manure, is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by an earthworm. These castings have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than do organic materials before vermicomposting.” (Wikipedia) 

Vermi-C.H.O.W. Bin Recycling System 

What makes the system stand out is its simplicity – it is low-maintenance, very easy to manage and very efficient. The contraption is simple – a basin, a recycled water container in the middle, the biodegradable waste inside that container with some African nighcrawlers (Eudrilus eugeniae) along with it. The worms eat the waste, digest it, and then they get out of the container and use the basin as their toilet. Yup, Nathan’s pets are toilet-trained. The worms’ excretions have been proven to be highly effective as organic fertilizers.

Nathan’s mother, Antonette, showed us how the system works: place the biodegradable waste inside the bin and a few days later, harvest the compost in the basin. When the worms multiply and the bin gets too crowded, set-up another one. It’s that simple.

But does it work? First thing we noticed when we entered their house was how healthy their plants were – they’re all fed with the compost that the system produce. There were no flies hovering around nor was there foul odor emanating from the numerous Vermi-C.H.O.W. systems in place all over: the garage, the porch, out in the garden, up on the roof.

After being gifted with a starter kit, we made our way out and outside their house Nathan’s mother picked up a couple of bags of biodegradable waste left by their gate by their neighbors – Nathan’s system now takes care of all the biodegradable waste of their neighborhood.

Nathan’s system has won numerous awards but have you heard about it? Probably not, for Nathan is not interested in making millions and making others make millions from his invention. Neither will he allow politicians to capitalize on his brainchild to advance their vested interests.

In the meantime, Nathan Cheng, 13, is doing what most of our leaders have failed to do – do what he can to make Baguio a better place for his and future generations.

One Peter Puzon (and why the crazies have my vote)

During the campaign period of the 2010 elections, a forum for mayoralty candidates was held. All candidates were invited and given the chance to speak about their platforms, except for one Peter Puzon. He filed a complaint before the Commission on Elections, citing the “equal access” provision and the spirit of the Fair Elections Act. His complaint was dismissed for according to the city election officer, the organizers led by the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Baguio did not commit any violation when it excluded him and that their act of omission did not mean that they favored “any group or political party.”

It goes without saying that the powers-that-be in the city dismissed Puzon’s candidacy as a joke. In their eyes, he was a nuisance candidate not worthy of an equal opportunity to present his vision for Baguio.

When the dust settled, Puzon received a measly 66 votes, placing 9th in a field of ten candidates and 47, 308 votes behind frontrunner and eventual winner, Mauricio G. Domogan who may just be remembered for saying he “cannot do anything” to save the trees on Luneta Hill from corporate greed.

After the elections, the candidates submitted their respective election expenses reports which had the top two winners, Mayor Domogan and Congressman Bernardo M. Vergara declaring that they spent less than half a million each, while Puzon pegged his expenses at P200.00. I believe Puzon’s statement, which translated into an average of P3.00 for each vote he received. If we are to believe in the mathematics of politics, had he spent the same amount as our sitting Mayor, and assuming that the close to half a million-peso expense report is true, he would have gotten at least 160,000 votes – more than three times what Mayor Domogan got.

We hardly hear from the eight other candidates these days, as if they can only care about Baguio if they’re in power.

But Peter Puzon, the “nuisance candidate?” You may catch him at the City Council sessions, intently listening to deliberations on important issues that affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of Baguio residents, other times he’s seen handing out photocopies of his very own newsletter containing his stand on various community concerns. I still have his statement on the utterly anti-poor policy of limiting the pedestrian crossings on Session Road to ensure that those who own cars can cruise along the historic road with ease, while those on foot will have to walk the extra hundred meters or so to cross.

In the coming weeks, we will start to hear again from the “genuine” candidates for various positions in the city – it’s election time, time to “care” for the city once again. I don’t know if Peter Puzon, the one whom most pundits dismissed as crazy for running for Mayor, will file his certificate of candidacy this time around, it doesn’t matter for in my eyes, he is the only one from among all the candidates in the 2010 elections who never stopped caring for his city and continued to champion causes he believed in.

Who’s crazy now? Peter Puzon or the ones gave us the Irisan garbage slide that claimed lives and property? Peter Puzon or the ones who wasted millions on inefficient Environmental Recycling System machines? Peter Puzon or the ones who are proposing to turnover the Baguio Athletic Bowl and the Baguo General Hospital to private interests? Peter Puzon or the ones who let corporations lord it over the city these days, raping the environment and wantonly violating the laws of the land and getting away with it?

Peter Puzon never stopped doing something for a better Baguio, as opposed to the ones who have admitted that they “cannot do anything,” and the ones who just stopped caring after losing the election. If they say his kind is crazy, then the crazies will have my vote next year.

The Bowl Job Blows

*my article in the August 19, 2012 issue of the Cordillera Today

Déjà vu – a couple of years ago, the issue helped bring down a mayor’s bid to move up the political ladder and become the city’s representative in congress. Peter Rey Bautista, then the city’s chief executive, found himself at the receiving end of biting criticism, this paper among the most rabid, over plans to bring in a private partner to rehabilitate and develop the dilapidated Baguio Athletic Bowl.

A local reporter claimed then that it was already a “done deal,” likened to a midnight deal since it was done during the Christmas holidays a few months before the elections, and that lawyer Reynaldo Cortes thought that “the measly lease of P1.2M (a year) is ‘peanuts’,” even with the 10% annual increase after the first five years.

I initially joined the bandwagon then, but I have to admit that my opposition was somewhat tempered when I read through the proposal then – a private company would come in to rehabilitate the facility, including raising the track oval to international standards and improving the grandstand to accommodate up to 20,000 spectators. To recoup their expenses, they would be allowed to operate an athletes’ dormitory, sports shops and food and beverage establishments. The facility would remain free and open to the city’s athletes and for city government-sponsored events.

The fact that that the proposal guaranteed that local athletes would still get to use the upgraded facilities for free made me rethink my opposition, though I agreed with Atty. Cortes’ assertion that P100,000 a month was quite disadvantageous to the government.

Bautista gave in to the public outcry then, and shelved the idea. But now the proposal is being revived. Councilor Edison Bilog is today’s lead oppositor up there in City Hall. An online word war is in the offing between him and Councilor Richard Cariño, among those siding with the proposal to privatize the Baguio Athletic Bowl.

The Terms of Reference (TOR) has been posted online for everyone to scrutinize and I have and I don’t buy it.

First, it is not clear whether the local government can actually enter into such deals – the Baguio Athletic Bowl is within Burnham Park, and for crying out loud, as we have been doing every time various parts of the park is turned into a tiangge such the Market Encounter during Panagbenga season, it must be beyond the commerce of man. Besides, can the Baguio City Government, without authorization from the national government, really enter into such contracts involving Burnham Park?

Secondly, our leaders must stop viewing anything that benefits the greater majority as merely an added expense that the city must be able to recoup. A park is an invaluable service that the government must spend for, and the ROI the that city gets from it is far more valuable than whatever amount commercializing it brings: a happy, healthy citizenry that’s able to escape life’s challenges without having to cough up precious, hard-earned money for a chance to simply exhale once in a while. We cannot keep on saying that that we don’t have money for something that will benefit the masses while at the same time throwing away more than a hundred million for useless ERS machines that failed to make a significant dent in our search for a solution to the garbage problem.

To me, privatization is a paradox. The government privatizes primarily due to lack of funds. But then private companies enter into these contracts with the government because the venture is profitable. So, even if I believe that ROI should not be an issue in rehabilitating the Baguio Athletic Bowl, if they indeed believe that the development of the Baguio Athletic Bowl is a profitable venture, why doesn’t our local government just do it itself? No money for it? Come on! Again, we can easily spend more than P100M for ERS machines that didn’t serve its purpose. We can spend millions on unnecessary road repairs. We can spend millions on “park improvements” that actually diminish the aesthetic value of the place rather than enhance it. Heck, not too long ago, we spent millions for a stupid concrete pine tree!

Having said all that, I say no to the privatization of the Baguio Athletic Bowl. It just blows.

On a day such as this

There were no guarantees I'd make it there – news reports the previous night showed the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) to be impassable due to flooding in various portions of the highway. When the following morning’s news reports and social media updates showed that the floods along the Manila-Central/Northern Luzon highway link have receded, and because of an unavoidable appointment last Wednesday, I braved the torrential rains and got on a bus to Manila having no idea if I can get to my destination from wherever the bus could take us.

The bus ride went along rather smoothly until we got to NLEX when heavy rains resulted in almost zero-visibility. Luckily we reached the Cubao station without any incident – and there the adventure began. It was half past three in the afternoon, and I was scheduled to meet a client in an hour in Pasay. My best bet to make it on time was to take the MRT, and the nearest station was merely a hundred meters or so away. But the rain was so strong that a few seconds under it would leave you completely drenched, so walking those hundred meters was out of the question. Besides, I couldn’t even get out of the bus station on t the street because the area was flooded.

15 minutes passed, then I decided to just wade in and get on the nearest bus to get to the MRT station. That short bus ride took half an hour. Five minutes later and I was on an elevated railway on a train making its way through the rain to Pasay. Another 15 minutes and we arrived at the Pasay-Rotonda station. I got off and made my way down to take whatever mode of transportation would be available to take me to my destination, which on a normal day would have been merely five minutes away - and I had 25 minutes left.

A crowd of people gathered at the bottom of the steps – there, floodwaters reached up to above the knees. Jeepneys would back all the way up the sidewalk to right infront of the MRT station steps so passengers can hop in without getting wet. Pedicabs offered passage to just a few meters to the other side of the road for P100.00. I hopped on a jeep, arrived at my destination, met with the client and quickly concluded our business transaction and called my daughter who was staying in a dormitory near her school, St. Benilde along Singalong St. near Taft Avenue - an area notorious to get underwater at the slightest downpour.

The rain has stopped, and another jeep ride and several flooded streets later and my daughter and I were merely some steps away from each other at the corner of Vito Cruz and Taft Ave., separated by a sea of murky and debris filled- waist-high floodwater. So near and yet so far. My daughter got on a pedicab and after having dinner together and knowing that she’s safe where she was, I walked her back to the edge of the flood, negotiated with a pedicab driver to take her back to her dormitory. I did notice that while the flooding in some areas slightly receded when the rain stopped, the water level in others remained as they were – clogged drainage systems and canal were clearly the culprit.

The rains fell again as soon as the pedicab disappeared from view. I called my daughter to check if she made it back safely, and she did, so I made my way back to the bus station in Pasay. This time it wasn’t as easy. The rain has started pouring again which made the floodwaters rise again and now there were less jeepneys on the road. After a combination of several short jeep rides and balancing acts on whatever elevation the sidewalks of F.B. Harrison St. offered, I made it to EDSA. I decided to walk the rest of the way to the station.

After making it to the other side of Taft Ave., merely a few meters away from the bus station, I saw blinking lights in the distance approaching. A couple of motorcycle-riding policemen, imposing SUVs with tinted windows, and it became obvious that this was probably the president’s convoy.

One support vehicle veered a little too close to the side of the road, splashing water on me and other pedestrians who didn’t have the luxury of not having to walk the streets on a day such as this.

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