CARITAS Philippines said the mass-cutting of trees along Quirino Avenue in Manila was a “direct assault on the poor.”
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has authorized cutting 600 trees to make way for the construction of San Miguel Corporation's Southern Access Link Expressway project, which will connect the Skyway to Roxas Boulevard.
About 200 trees have been taken down.
Caritas Philippines President Bishop Gerardo Alminaza said on Monday that the decades-old trees have long provided shade for the public, shielding them from extreme heat and offering respite amid their daily work.
Alminaza said the trees play a critical role in mitigating the urban heat island effect, improving air quality, and reducing flood risks in a city already grappling with the harsh realities of the climate crisis.
“Now, these trees are being reduced to bleeding stumps to make way for another expressway under the disguise of ‘progress,’ thereby flattening our urban environment and, once again, asking the poor to pay the highest price,” he said.
Alminaza questioned why “progress” has to jeopardize vulnerable sectors. “Why are our cities designed for vehicles and concrete instead of for children, workers, pedestrians, and the elderly?" he said.
The mass tree cutting is not just an environmental issue but a moral failure, a "wound inflicted on our common home" and a glaring example of environmental injustice, Alminaza said.
He called for a shift in how development is conceptualized, urging leaders to prioritize projects that enhance life rather than erode it.
Alminaza urged a halt to the tree-cutting and a review of infrastructure projects through the lens of ecological justice.
He emphasized that such decisions must prioritize the welfare of communities and the environment over corporate gains and vehicle-centric urban planning.
Quoting Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si, the bishop warned against a "throwaway culture" that views both nature and vulnerable communities as expendable in the pursuit of profit.
Alminaza rallied the faithful to “demand to keep and defend the remaining green spaces of our cities. Demand accountability from our leaders. Demand on a development that gives life, rather than one that leaves us in the shadows of stumps.”
On Monday, the DENR said that no trees on Quirino Avenue or at the Berong Nickel Project in Palawan were removed without a legal basis, environmental safeguards, or rehabilitation plans.
"We assure the public that no tree is authorized for removal without [a] strict legal basis, environmental safeguards, and long‑term rehabilitation requirements," it said in a statement.
For the Berong Nickel Project, the DENR has authorized the cutting of 26,617 trees and the earth-balling and transplanting of 43,743 saplings.
The DENR, the Berong Nickel Project has "one of the highest mitigation standards in the country." For every tree approved for cutting, the project proponent must plant 100 indigenous or mangrove seedlings, totaling an estimated minimum of 2.66 million seedlings. The trees must include pagatpat, api-api, and other DENR-approved native species suited for the area's rehabilitation needs.
It said the Palawan project will be implemented in phases, with each phase occurring simultaneously with the planting of replacement trees to guarantee ecological recovery.
The project proponent is also required to maintain the planted seedlings for at least three years to guarantee survival, followed by long-term protection and stewardship of the rehabilitated areas.
Local families and communities should handle the planting, maintenance, and protection activities. Payments to the community will be released only after the DENR validates their work.
The progress in the rehabilitation efforts will be tracked through geo-tagged monitoring reports and supervised by DENR foresters together with a Multipartite Monitoring Team composed of government, local government units, community members, and civil society.
The project must also maintain 20-meter buffer zones along all rivers and waterways and rehabilitate any non-minable or protected areas.
"These safeguards — similar to the strict conditions imposed [on] Quirino Avenue — ensure transparency, accountability, and long-term ecological recovery," the DENR said.
"We assure the public that the DENR is closely supervising every phase of the activity and enforcing all safeguards. Our priority is to protect communities, uphold the law, and ensure that the environment gains more than it loses. We ask for the public’s calm and continued engagement as we carry out our mandate with transparency and care," said the agency.
