BUTUAN CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has warned about the danger of the Centennial Toog tree located at the side of the national highway in Barangay Alegria, San Francisco, Agusan del Sur.
“Our Centennial toog tree already poses danger to our villagers in the area, and even to our commuting public,” said DENR 13 Regional Executive Director (RED) Hajah Didaw D. Piang-Brahim, in an exclusive interview with The Manila Bulletin on Wednesday.
“We are campaigning for forest protection and preservation but we are also for life,” he said.
DENR officials and pathologists have seen the risk posed to the villagers in the area and commuters when the tree collapses.
The local government of San Francisco town has deferred cutting down the 300-year old Centennial Toog tree due to appeals of local leaders to save it.
TOP DENR officials and the LGU of San Francisco, led by Mayor Solomon T. Rufila, inspected the giant toog tree on Tuesday.
RED Hajah Didaw D. Piang-Brahim expressed respect for the decision made by the local officials in sparing the cutting of the centennial tree in consideration of the appeal of some environmentalists in the area.
“The local officials can always find an appropriate solution to the situation just as we uphold the recommendation of the DENR Forest and Wetland Research experts which found the base of the centennial tree deteriorating from fungi disease and has weakened, “ Piang-Brahim said.
The Toog tree is perhaps the only remaining tallest tree in the area which 300 years ago was once teeming with its kind.
The massive clearing of trees by several holders of the Timber License Agreement (TLA) caused the dwindling of the toog tree species.
Last year, a team of forest specialists at the DENR Forest and Wetlands Research Center conducted a pathological , bio-chemical, and structural analysis of the base of the Centennial Toog tree and found an aggressive kind of fungus on its base. It rated 5.4 high-potential hazard rating at a scale of 1 to 6 hazard rate. They recommended it to be cut down due to the danger it posed.
The CENRO Bunawan and the Research Forest Specialist have issued clearance to the LGUS to cut down the centennial tree. However, some members of the Society of Foresters Inc. in the area requested local officials to preserve the giant toog tree.