Residents, environmentalists fight Marikina tree-cutting, bridge project

MANILA, Philippines — Residents of Provident Village in Marikina City, together with environmentalists, converged over the weekend to launch the Save Our Trees! Stop the Bridge! Network.

The environmental group Marikina Kontra Agos said on Facebook that they oppose the Metro Manila Bridges Project that threatens over 1,000 trees and plants, as well as several communities in Marikina City, which once saw how massive flooding submerged a village and killed dozens.

Back in 2022, in the last few months of the Duterte administration, then-Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III expressed gratitude to the Asian Development Bank for funding the construction of what he described as three “climate-resilient bridges designed to decongest Metro Manila’s traffic-heavy areas.”

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The said bridges, spanning over three kilometers across the Marikina River are among the 12 to be built through the Metro Manila Bridges Project.

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READ: Marikina villagers fight plan to cut decades-old trees

Secretary Dominguez and ADB Managing Director General Woochong Um exchanged copies of the loan documents for the construction of the three bridges in ceremonies held at the Department of Finance (DOF) office in Manila this morning.

“These bridges are crucial components of the Build, Build, Build program that will help our economy bounce back from the adverse effects of the pandemic. With their high multiplier effect and job-generating potential, investments in infrastructure will be the engine for our rapid economic recovery,” Secretary Dominguez said.

READ: 12 new ‘iconic’ bridges planned in Metro Manila to ease road gridlock

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The bridges will eventually be called Homeowner’s Drive-A. Bonifacio Bridge, Kabayani Street-Matandang Balara Bridge, and Marcos Highway-St. Mary Avenue Bridge.

“We are launching this network to signify our united stance to stop the massive tree-cutting that will happen in Marikina City once the ADB Metro Manila Bridges Project pushes through,” said Ali Esquila, co-convenor of Marikina Kontra Agos.

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Based on the discussion facilitated by the group last Saturday, Aug. 22, the Marcos Highway-St. Mary Avenue Bridge will affect Barangays Nangka, Concepcion Uno and Tumana, and cut 514 trees.

The Kabayani Street-Matandang Balara Bridge will affect Barangays Jesus dela Peña and Sto. Niño and cut 350 trees, while the Homeowner’s Drive-A. Bonifacio Bridge will affect Barangays Calumpang, Tanong and Jesus dela Peña, and is expected to cut 232 trees.

All in all, the construction of three bridges will cut an estimated 1,069 trees and remove the “canopy cover” over an estimated 17-hectare area in Marikina City, worsening the city’s heat and increasing our vulnerability to flooding,” said the Marikina Kontra Agos.

“This amounts to significant urban shade loss in the remaining green spaces in Metro Manila, making communities more vulnerable to heat stress and flooding even as a super El Nino event is unfolding,” she said.

More than 70 households in Marikina will also be demolished.

For Esquila, the national government cannot proceed with the project, as no thorough consultation has been conducted among affected stakeholders.

She explained that the project also encroaches on private land in Provident Villages, as there is no proof of legal transfer of Provident Villages’ roads and open spaces to the public domain. 

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“We are carefully studying our legal options to halt the construction of the bridges. We call on lawyers, advocates and concerned citizens to support us in amplifying our campaign to send a message to the ADB that we are not allowing this project to proceed,” she said. /mr