Removal of trees shall be the last option in establishing infrastructure
By: Hazel F. Gloria
Cebu City, March 25 (PIA) — Removal and or cutting of trees shall be the last option in establishing infrastructure projects.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) regional executive director Maximo Dichoso reminds contractors and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that the cutting of trees and other vegetation and conduct of tree maintenance practices in urban areas and in areas to be covered by government projects such as, road right of ways, road widening and other infrastructure projects shall primarily be in the interest of public welfare and safety.
“Removal of trees in urban areas can be through earth-balling or cutting, however, when establishing infrastructure projects, removal of the trees shall be the last option and the design of the projects shall complement the presence of existing vegetation,” Dichoso said.
Accordingly, a road widening project affecting alleged century-old trees would start from Naga City to Carcar City and would cost about P27 million. It is undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“The application for the removal of trees causing obstruction to building construction and other infrastructure projects like road widening and road right of way shall be filed at the nearest DENR office,” Dichoso added.
The requirements are application letter, photographs of trees to be removed, sketch map showing the location of trees to be removed, endorsement of local government unit concerned, and environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and minutes of public consultation concerning the removal of trees, he pointed out.
The CENRO office concerned shall cause the conduct of the necessary inspection and evaluation of the area including the inventory of trees covered by the application to determine the necessity to remove, prune or trim the trees, he stated.
Generally, trees and other vegetation, both planted and naturally-growing, with diameter of 15 centimeters and below may be earth-balled.
The transplanting of earth-balled trees shall be the obligation of the permittee, to be conducted in an area jointly pre-identified by the DENR. They shall maintain and protect the transplanted tree for a period of at least one year.
Heritage trees, those with historical and cultural significance as certified by the National Historical Institute or by other appropriate agencies, and landmark trees as certified by the concerned LGU shall be preserved, nurtured and applied with tree maintenance practices as necessary, according to Dichoso.
Under Presidential Decree # 953, it is the policy of the state to require the planting of trees in certain places and penalize unauthorized cutting, destruction and damaging and injuring on certain trees, plants and vegetations.
The State also must protect and advance the right of the Filipino people to a healthful environment and to establish a holistic ecosystem approach in public places.
Certain areas are made mandatory and/or voluntary for environmental protection purposes, enhancement of the aesthetic value of the area and contribute in addressing impacts of climate change. (PIA-7/HFG & DENR-7/Ed Llamedo)
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PhilHealth-7 paid over 35T claims for hospitalization due to hypertension
Cebu City, March 25 (PIA) – The PhilHealth in Central Visayas has processed over 35,000 claims for hospitalization due to diseases of the circulatory system, most of these claims were for confinements due to essential (primary) hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure.
PhilHealth-7 said it has paid about P12 million as benefits for such claims. PhilHealth medical officer Dr. Maria Eliza Alipio said that essential (primary) hypertension is high blood pressure for which no exact medical cause is found.
This is classified as Case Type A under PhilHealth’s unified benefit schedule. Such that, if a patient is admitted in a tertiary hospital, the member can avail of a maximum benefit of P4,200 for drugs and medicines and P3,200 for x-ray, laboratory and others.
If the patient’s doctor is a general practitioner, the maximum benefit for the professional fee is P1,200 and P2,000 if the doctor is a specialist.
The member also has benefits for room and board charges of P500 per day for the duration of the confinement.
This, however, subject to the 45-day maximum limit per year for room and board set by PhilHealth.
Dr. Alipio shares that in most cases, patients with high blood pressure are found to have high cholesterol level in their body.
She suggests, to keep a normal blood pressure, one must live a healthy lifestyle – eat healthy, exercise and make lifestyle modifications, such as giving up smoking and drinking.
Essential hypertension is one of the cases with the most number of claims in 2010. As such, it is one of 11 case types set for a case-rate benefit payment scheme – a method that reimburses hospitals a pre-determined fixed rate for the treated case – which PhilHealth hopes to implement by May this year.
PhilHealth members must make sure that their premium payments or remittances are updated as well as their member data record (MDR) to be able to avail themselves of PhilHealth benefits.
PhilHealth Circular No. 25 series of 2010 which will take effect on July 1, 2011 mandates the new eligibility rules for entitlement to benefits: members must have paid at least nine (9) monthly contributions within the immediate 12-month period prior to hospitalization to avail of benefits. (PIA-7/Hazel F. Gloria with press release from PhilHealth-7)
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An NGO in Cebu to hold urban development forum
The Eduardo Aboitiz Development Studies Center (EADSC) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) will hold the first part of this year’s four-part Urban Development Series of the Understanding Choices Forum.
Organized in collaboration with the University of Cologne, Southeast Asian-German Forum for Urban Futures (ForUm-Network), and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) 7, the forum is entitled “Urban Development and Governance: Risks and Opportunities, Learning from Other Cities”. It will be held on Mar. 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon at EADSC, Lopez Jaena Street, Cebu City.
The forum aims to facilitate and broaden understanding on the impacts, risks, and opportunities of programs and policies on urban development and governance in other cities.
These programs have been established to combat the urban sprawl or to stimulate urban dynamics happening in major cities in Asia.
The forum will highlight inputs from four international experts and professionals from ForUm-Network, a network of global experts in the field of urban planning and development.
The four experts include Prak Angkeara, deputy director general of the General Department of Land Management and Urban Planning. He will talk on urban networking by participatory community land use planning in Cambodia.
Dr. Sekson Yongvanit from Khon Kaen University and Virunpob Supab from the Ministry of Natural Resources in Thailand, will talk about how Khon Kaen City in Thailand improved itself from green and clean city to low carbon city.
Dr. Goh Hong Ching from the Department of Geography in Universiti Malaya in Malaysia, will speak about the risks being faced now by Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The forum is open to the public. (PIA-7/Minerva BC Newman with reports from RAFI/Nancy R. Cudis)