Mayor to suspend issuance of endorsement to tree cutting

July 4, 2020 Metro BLISTT

Mayor to suspend issuance of endorsement to tree cutting applications for commercial purposes June 30, 2020 – Mayor Benjamin Magalong mulls declaring a moratorium on the issuance of endorsements for tree cutting applications for commercial purposes to halt for the meantime the massive felling of trees in privately owned lots in the city.
The mayor said this is while the city is following through on its request for Malacanang to issue a one year moratorium on tree-cutting and construction of high rise buildings in the city. He said his plan is being supported by Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources Cordillera Regional Executive Director Ralph Pablo. While it is not a permanent measure, suspending the issuance of clearances on his end will at least buy the city time to work out a lasting solution to protect the trees even those that are situated in private properties, Magalong
said.
The mayor’s endorsement is one of the requirements before the DENR can issue a Private Land Timber Permit, a permit issued to a landowner for the cutting, gathering and utilization of naturally grown trees in private lands as per DENR Administrative Order No. 2000-21.
Its issuance is a ministerial function of the mayor as it comes only after the applicant has submitted other DENR-required documents like the Environmental Clearance Certificate which is issued only after public consultations, barangay certificate and endorsement by the joint investigation team whose members come from both the DENR and the city government.
The mayor is also considering requiring applicants to advance the tree replacement requirement so that in the course of completing the requisites, they are at the same building their tree farms from where the replacements to the trees to be cut will be culled.
He said that since the whole application process takes at least two years, the private applicants can rear their trees within said period ensuring higher survival rate and thereby giving true spirit to the compensatory requirement.
Aileen P. Refuerzo/ABN