Run, Forest, Run
Scurry off with your roots away from the ground.
I did not misspell Forrest. It is obvious that I took the famed quotation from the movie ‘Forrest Gump’, modified it to specifically point to another kind of Forrest — the green one with a single ‘r’.
The vision of living in ‘green world’ seems to be in a blur, the sad reality of the seeing wooden trunks turn into concrete pedestal is gracing the city’s horizon. The impending threat remains to haunt the mountain city’s lush greenery.
The cyberspace and other forms of media are all ablaze, rattling about an issue that could possibly push the Reproductive Health Bill down the gutter: the uprooting of 182 trees in the City of Baguio.
An ‘extension project’ of a business establishment is in the works. Of course, nothing falls right in the palm of your hands. You gain one, you lose another. In this case, 85 alnus and 97 pine trees are set to get their necks wrapped around a noose.
The trees are subject to earth-balling. That in itself is not a surefire way of survival for the trees. It’s practically cutting off a plant’s life-support, leaving the victims yearning for life. The company promised a 1:30 ratio, adding another 10 to standard rules. However, we should look at the number of years one needs to grow not the number one has to be replaced with.
Although the company assures an eco-friendly project. The stench of disbelief still assails the mountain city’s nostrils. While many sectors of the city remain tight-lipped, the constituents of Baguio are on full-blast to stop the mass murder of these trees.
Environmentalist or simply concerned inhabitants of the City of Pines lashed jarring opinions through social media. That is a sign that we, the people, are ready to stand beside our leafy pals. That we, the people, are ready to protect the things that made Baguio City, the Baguio City. That we, the people, are watching, listening, and willing to step up and take a stand. Because 182 is not just 182.
It is certain that our city is entering another realm of capitalism. Greedy hands work hand in hand to tip the scale of nature and business, eyeing another kind of ‘green’.
Whatever the outcome may be, I still hold on to little rays of hope left. The already deteriorating environment will again face an unruly blemish that will not only affect the ecosystem but the people and the city as well.
