Baguio’s drive vs Pine tree ‘murderers, torturers’ loses first round in legal bout

October 7, 2019 Headlines

BAGUIO CITY (October 4, 2019) – Baguio City’s drive against environmental offenders suffered a major blow after charges against six officers of the Gateluck Corporation, who “tortured and murdered” 45 fully-grown pine trees at a lot along Legarda road here, were dropped by the Baguio City prosecutors office for lack of sufficient evidence.
Deputy City prosecutor Conrado Catral Jr., in penning the resolution dated on August 22, but only handed out on Wednesday ruled, “no sufficient evidence was adduced by the complainant to warrant the filing of any information” against the 6 for a violation of the city’s Environmental Code.
On August 2, Baguio City represented by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong filed an environmental complaint versus Gateluck Corporation officers asking that officers of Gateluck Corporation be held accountable “for every tree damaged and for every act in violation of City Ordinance 18, series of 2016 or the Environmental Code of Baguio City” particularly Section 226-227.
DENR-Cordillera director Ralph Pablo earlier said calcium carbide was used to poison the pine trees at the 51.186 square meter lot, where the corporation reportedly plans to build a mall.
Earlier in July, Magalong and other officials found 45 pine trees in the said lot were bored with the chemical at its base “intentionally to kill it slowly”.
But Deputy Prosecutor Catral Jr. said “the evidence provided by the complainant had not fully established the probable criminal culpability of any” of the 6 officers of Gateluck Corporation.
Although “there was a violation of law, the evidence does not point to any or all of the respondents herein as appropriate and proper malefactors”. We are one with (Magalong) in his efforts at enforcing the Environment Code, and in punishing the appropriate persons who out to be made responsible for its violation,” Catral Jr. explained, “but criminal and court actions are essentially and always concerned with the production of sufficient, positive and appropriate evidence in support of the appropriate legal actions, against proper responsible malefactors, so that both the efforts of the City Mayor and the Prosecution will not prove futile.”
Catral Jr. essentially “berated” Mayor Magalong and said in his ruling, “the complainant should show positive evidence, to the point of moral certainty, that the violations of the Ordinance were actually and personally performed by any of the Respondents therein, to make any or all of them criminally liable.
Otherwise, their evidence remains self-serving and purely speculative and presumptive in nature, which is totally inadmissible in any proceeding.”
Mayor Magalong had admitted that the violation of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) law filed by the environment department against Gateluck Corp. was also earlier dismissed. ”I am sure they will file a motion for reconsideration,” Magalong said, though he could not issue any statement on the dismissal of the case he himself filed.
Baguio City’s Environment Code provides P5,000 penalty for every damaged tree in violation of Section 226 and/or imprisonment of one month and a day to six months.

Ace Alegre/ABN