ENVIRONMENTALISTS CONDEMN THE ECOLOGICAL VIOLENCE OF SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION🌳

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Environmentalists condemned the cutting of decade-old trees, on the morning of May 26, permitted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in order to give way for the construction of the Southern Access Link Expressway (SALEX) funded by the San Miguel Corporation in connection to their airport expansion project.

Protesters formed human chains around the trees that are marked to be cut in the coming months of the construction of the aforementioned project. The groups states that the DENR is complicit in enabling the collusion of large private businesses and corrupt government officials that advance infrastructure projects that enrich corporate profits rather than concerning themselves with the welfare of the public and the environment.

Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, the lead organizer for yesterday’s protest, stated that projects of this nature affect the most vulnerable communities who are already facing floods, extreme heat, and air pollution. KPNE National Coordinator Cathleen De Guzman stated that offsetting the damage is not enough justification for cutting a tree that took decades to grow.

Furthermore, they questioned the role of DENR as the primary institution that, for the longest time, has uncritically approved the environmentally destructive projects of large corporations. In a recent interview with Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno, he states that the cut trees will be transferred to Intramuros as it is the only available open space that can accommodate the number of trees.

The Climate Change Network for Community-based initiatives vehemently condemns the toppling of trees in urban areas where a large concentration of our carbon emissions are being housed. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) recently classified the heat index values of up to 51°C as “danger” category which translates to a higher vulnerability to heat-caused illnesses such as cramps, exhaustion, and stroke.

This record high was felt on May 19, 2026 with the heatwave seeing an upward trajectory in the past few days. DOST-PAGASA released updated data on the highest computed 5-day Heat Index in the past 5 days and it recorded heatwaves in Pasay City & Quezon City that were categorized under “danger.” This is made worse by a laggard response from the government to a worsening climate crisis.

In achieving climate resilience, more trees are needed to act as carbon sinks which can absorb harmful emissions while also releasing much needed oxygen. In our highly urbanized administrative regions, mass transportation is needed to move a high volume of people in one center. Exacerbated by the dominance of private vehicles in our city streets translates to over 35.42 million tons of carbon emissions in 2022 alone.

𝐈𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞!

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