00:00These are the amazing stories about trees.
00:04The highest and oldest trees in the country were cut down by the spirits.
00:12Trees are important for all of us to live.
00:16That's why they became an important part of our country's stories.
00:21Just like the tallest tree in our country, which is covered by a mystery.
00:29The Pinoy Ethnic Group of Manobo has been living in the Agusan River Valley for several millennia.
00:34Barangay Alegria, San Francisco, Agusan del Sur.
00:39This is the home of the Tuog tree, which is said to be 300 years old.
00:45This is the oldest and tallest Philippine rosewood tree in the country.
00:51According to the Manobo of Agusan,
00:53many spirits are not seen around and these spirits are known in our lives.
01:00And the spirits of their ancestors live in this sacred tree.
01:07According to their story, there were many Tuog trees here in the past.
01:11And it serves as a symbol of the flood season and the unity of tribes.
01:18But since the flood, the forest here has been filled with anger.
01:22Their ancestors left their country and all the Tuog trees were destroyed.
01:29Except for one tree.
01:33But the tree became a symbol of the unity of the people here.
01:37They want it to fall.
01:39Will the spirits of the Manobo ancestors come back?
01:47To clarify the reason why the Alegria Tuog Tree will be cut,
01:52we consulted an expert who is called to examine the tree.
01:59He is Tommy Valdez, the National Council President of the Society of Filipino Foresters,
02:05the only professional organization of foresters in the country.
02:10The Heritage Tuog Tree, which is said to be the tallest in the country,
02:14has a height of 56 meters or the height of a 16-story building.
02:20And it has a diameter breast height of 3.6 meters or the length of a car.
02:28And this is where people were afraid,
02:32because they thought that this tree is already dead and it could fall.
02:38And it could harm the people around here.
02:43In 2018, there was a group of researchers in Carraga who examined this tree.
02:54And they found that there are only two roots of this tree.
03:04And it was planted by a village in San Francisco to be cut.
03:14For the sake of safety, many experts needed to know the answer to this question.
03:21We planned and called a tree climber whose name is Gil Andepa or Iggy.
03:30Iggy is a native of this place.
03:35He visited our tree and went to the big hole.
03:40He was surprised and saw a white duck.
03:47And he said, we need to say goodbye because many people are guarding this tree.
03:55After Iggy talked to the white duck, it suddenly disappeared.
04:02And Iggy said that this is the sign of the agreement to the new examination of our tree.
04:11Iggy went up again to examine the condition of the tree from above.
04:17In our analysis, we found that this tree is very important to the people and to all of us.
04:29It can still survive.
04:31It just needs to be taken care of.
04:40That's good news because this tree has the power to grow itself.
04:47We recommend that this hole should be cleaned.
04:55Remove the roots.
05:00It is true that the tallest and oldest rosewood tree in the Philippines is still alive in the town of Alegria.
05:09In Spanish, it means happiness.
05:14Because now, it will not be cut.
05:17I am sure that many will be happy with this.
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