Trees, public space and practical purposes

The plan of Mayor Michael Rama to construct a sidewalk on one side of the Tesda compound in Lahug may remain just like that -- a plan, or so The Freeman aptly reported yesterday. And that is because the DENR has rejected a DPWH request to remove several trees that stand in the way of the planned construction. Having already rejected the cutting of trees that stand in the way of planned road constructions in other areas, the DENR will have to stand pat on its rejection to be consistent.

It is Rama, on the other hand, who is difficult to fathom on the matter of trees. Salinas Drive, which is where the planned sidewalk is to be constructed, goes on to become Pope John Paul Avenue as the road enters Mabolo from Lahug. In other words, it is exactly the same road but for the change of name as it goes from one barangay to the other. But in an earlier issue about trees on some center islands on Pope John Paul Avenue, Rama was willing to compromise.

In that controversy of sorts, Rama was willing to allow the cutting of some trees, depending on where they were situated, but stood adamantly against the cutting of the rest. Clearly, Rama's willingness to compromise in the Pope John Paul Avenue trees issue was based on practical considerations as he saw it and not on environmental concerns as it was initially made to appear.

And now the Salinas Drive trees may have to go as well, also for practical considerations -- to enable Rama to build a sidewalk in an area that does not have one, unless the DENR does not budge. So what is the position of Rama really on the matter of trees? Does he want trees protected for environmental concerns or is he willing to cut some here and there for as long as there is a practical reason to do so?

On the other hand, there is a big difference between trees on a planned sidewalk and trees that stand in the way of planned road constructions. Sidewalks, as important as they are to pedestrians, can be foregone in certain circumstances. The Salinas Drive portion near Tesda is not the only place in the world that does not have a sidewalk. There are a lot of places, including some of the major cities in the world, where there are no sidewalks on short stretches of road.

This is apparently okay for as long as the absence is compensated by the presence of a sidewalk across from it. And there is precisely a sidewalk across that area in Salinas where Rama wants his sidewalk. The problem with the sidewalk across the street is that it has been taken over by people and their dwellings and their roadside enterprises.

So, if Rama cannot build his sidewalk on the side of Tesda, surely he can recover the sidewalk across from it that has been taken over by people in order to give it back to the pedestrians -- or will he be tentative on this as well. This problem is, of course, common in all areas, where sidewalks have been expropriated for other uses. And in fairness to Rama, he is not the only politicians who has been tentative about clashing head-on with those who have taken over roadside real estate.