BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan ordered anew a joint inventory of the trees posing danger to lives and properties in the city by the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Cordillera (DENR-CAR).
In Administrative Order No. 33 series of 2019, the mayor said under the existing procedure, the task of investigating and recording dead, sick or strangulated trees falls under the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) through the Forestry and Watershed Division but there is a need to include personnel from the DENR-CAR to strengthen the inspection and come up with a unified result and recommendation.
He formed a nine-man team headed by Forest and Watershed Division Chief Beatriz Gajete and foresters from the CEPMO and the DENR-CAR to conduct site inspection, inventory and tagging of said trees along the road right-of-ways, parks, forest reserves and public lands in the different barangays.
The team will report their findings and recommend actions to the city government and the DENR-CAR.
The mayor’s move was in line with the order of DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu for the rehabilitation of Baguio which included solving the problem on the dying Benguet pine trees.
“Recently , our pines trees are plagued by pests and diseases particularly by the Ips Calligraphus, dendroctunos bark beetles, forest fires, over tapping, erosion, over maturity and overpopulation and this has caught the attention of Secretary Cimatu,” the mayor noted.
He said an inventory is in order to identify which trees and how many trees need intervention and what remedial measures can be employed. – PIO Baguio