Group seeks environment code to stop Baguio decay

BAGUIO CITY—The city has a law protecting pine trees but it has no environment code which should equip its officials and residents with the means to cope with extreme climate changes.

Since 2004, measures have been drafted that seek to pass a codified body of environment laws. But the present version of the code has been languishing at the city council, according to local environmentalists, led by the Baguio Regreening Movement (BRM).

On March 11, the group submitted a petition demanding the passage of the proposed code, which was filed in 2013. The measure includes features on water use and rainwater collection, and introduces stricter rules on building construction and land use.

According to BRM, the council, during its Feb. 22 session, voted to delete provisions of the proposed code that impose a mining ban in Baguio, regulate building constructions and ban pyrotechnic use to improve Baguio air quality.

The proposed code heeds laws from the early 1920s which bar mining in Baguio, except for a now abandoned mine site in Loakan and an area that has become the Mines View Park, according to Cordelia Lacsamana, city environment officer, who helped draft the measure.

However, some councilors have reservations about a total ban because of unregulated small-scale mining and quarry operations in Baguio’s outskirts.

The proposed code underwent several revisions, with outputs from a recent environment summit, a technical working group of consultants and the academic community included in the draft.

A government source, however, said some councilors did not want the code to become law on an election year because the measure also codifies existing government fees, some of which are not being imposed.

“The environment sector would like to see an environment code that will address environmental concerns in the city—not [a measure] based on the clamor of certain sectors or the personal interest of few people,” BRM said.

It said environmental degradation would lead to Baguio’s urban decay, so “environmental protection should override all considerations [distracting the city council] as the stakes involve life.”