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Advocates urge DENR to review replacement ratio after halting Manila tree-cutting project

A heritage advocacy group urges the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to prioritize 'environment first' after about 200 trees were cut along Quirino Avenue in Manila to make way for a new skyway. In an exclusive interview with _The Manila Times_ on May 27, 2026, Miguel Ordoño III, vice president of Renacimiento Manila, said recent tree-cutting operations along Quirino Avenue highlighted the need for greater transparency, public consultation, and sustainable urban planning. DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said that the tree-cutting activities were suspended and subjected to review.

VIDEO BY ALLEN LIMOS

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Transcript
00:00Environment first.
00:02Okay, nandun sila.
00:03Nauna sila.
00:04You have 50-year-old naratis.
00:06You have, you know, heritage trees around Kirino.
00:09Diba?
00:10So, sila nauna.
00:11And, you know, in urban design, we have to respect them.
00:16Dito yung nauna.
00:17So, we plan around them.
00:19So, instead, why not mass transportation?
00:23Diba?
00:23You move.
00:24Kasi ito, no?
00:25The more you add these skyways, the more you invite cars.
00:29You are not alleviating traffic.
00:31You're just moving it to, you know, vary yung mass, you know, number of cars.
00:36You move mo lang to other places.
00:38But you're, how many people are nakikinabag dun?
00:41Diba?
00:42Now, if you look at it, if we try to plan sana with the environment in mind,
00:49lahat nakaka-enjoy.
00:50Okay?
00:51Lahat ng tao, you can use the jeep, you can use the, you can ride more mass transport and such.
00:56And, lahat tayo, as a collective community, we can actually, you know, benefit from such developments.
01:04Hindi lang a certain sector na gumagamit na sasakyan.
01:08Manila is very, very car-centric.
01:10Palaki ng palaki yung roads.
01:12Painit ng painit ang Maynila.
01:14Diba?
01:14So, ayun.
01:16It comes to, ano naman po, long-term solutions.
01:19Kasi, as I mentioned before, no, this is not the first time that BANR received a plaque for, well, not
01:26necessarily upholding its mandate of protecting the environment po.
01:31Ano po kaya yung mga calls natin for the DNR to ensure that these kinds of situations never happen again
01:37po?
01:39Actually, maybe look into their policies again, lalo na doon sa 1 is to 100 na planting, which is, actually,
01:47I don't know, this is just a personal opinion of ours, no?
01:51Hindi ba yung 1 is to 100 is to discourage, diba, the development?
01:57But lumalabas na parang, ay, kaya ko naman mag-replant-replant, diba?
02:01So, parang, you know, maybe sana, no, try to do something about the policies and how easy the permits can
02:08be addressed.
02:09Kasi right now, ang sinasabi nila, ah, we have a permit for this, we have a permit for that, that
02:13seems like a gospel truth, diba?
02:15Pero, if you look at it, what's the whole purpose of it?
02:19What's the, ano, no, umbaga, what's the core essence of having such permits?
02:25So, para lang bang masabi na legal siya, or is it really to protect our environment?
03:00So, I'll see you next time.
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