Vista Residences’ chopping down of dozens of trees in Baguio is aboveboard, says DENR

The permit given to Villar-led Vista Residences Inc. to cut down 54 trees to make way for a subdivision in Baguio City is aboveboard, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

According to DENR undersecretary and spokesperson Benny Antiporda, the cutting activity complied with standards set by the Environment department.

"It is a private land and they were given a tree cutting permit but in exchange, they need to replace 100 seedlings to every cut tree, meaning they need to plant 5,400 seedlings for the 54 trees," he said in a mobile message.

"Additional information says that the local government also obliged them to double up the seedlings so it is 10,800 seedlings now," he elaborated.

He was responding to queries regarding the cutting of 54 trees—53 Benguet Pine and one Norfolk Pine—in Purok 3, Outlook Drive in Baguio City to make way for a project of Vista Residences Inc.

Vista Residences is a subsidiary of Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. (VLL), which is chaired by businessman Manuel Villar Jr.—the Philippines' richest man, according to Forbes' Billionaires 2020 list.

Villar is married to Senator Cynthia Villar, who currently chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, as well as the Committee on Agriculture and Food.

VLL, a publicly listed company, posted a net income of P2.439 billion in January to March of 2020, down 7% from P2.622 billion the same quarter in 2019.

For the full-year 2019, the company reported a bottom line of P11.6 billion, up 10% from P10.5 billion in 2018.

The company already earlier said the cutting of the 54 pine trees was in "full compliance with all relevant rules and regulations" and has been issued the necessary permits to do so.

Shares of the company closed Tuesday at P3.69 apiece, down by 2 centavos or 0.54% from Monday's finish of P3.71 per share.

An online petition has since been mounted, urging Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong to stop the cutting activities.

"We are appealing to you because we know you also recognize the importance of trees in our beloved city and also because the company has already acquired a tree-cutting permit from DENR," the petition read.

Started by Michael Bengwayan, the petition has already reaped in 6,564 signatures as of this posting, short of its goal of 7,500.

For his part, Magalong—who in his campaign was vocal in imposing a moratorium on cutting trees—expressed his dismay over the felled trees.

"We are saddened because we feel it is a big blow to our Regreening Master Plan amidst our request to the Office of the President for a tree-cutting moratorium," he said in a separate statement.

"While the proposed moratorium has been taken over by this health crisis, we need to follow this up to ensure that our remaining trees will be preserved," added Magalong.

According to Baguio's Public Information Office (PIO), records of the DENR regional office show that the property owner applied for a special land timber permit in 2018, before Magalong's term.

The environmental clearance certificate (ECC) for the project was issued in 2017, the barangay certificate in September 2018, and the Mayor's Clearance in October 2018, under then-Mayor Mauricio Domogan.

"Records further showed that the company was required to redesign the original plan to reduce the number of trees to be affected," the PIO said.

"The owner also complied with the compensatory requirement of 100 tree seedlings to each tree felled," it elaborated. — BM, GMA News