By Ariel Avendaño

BALER, Aurora - Villagers living at the foot of the historical Ermita Hill site in a sitio in Barangay Zabali in this town have condemned the ongoing construction project within the three-hectare Civil Service-declared Centennial Forest zone.

The said villagers are appealing to President Bongbong Marcos, Jr. to hold the project pending full scale investigation on massive cutting of trees that has been allegedly allowed by the provincial office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The local residents are also urging the President to terminate the construction activity, citing the long term ill-effect it may cause in the historical site which was declared as an arboretum by the DENR-Aurora.

Reeling from the recent flash flood triggered by a daylong heavy downpour two weeks ago (Jan. 5, 2023), villagers expressed apprehension that more flooding is yet to come once the portion of the Ermita Hill's forest cover stand is disturbed.

"Mas natatakot kami ngayon dahil siguradong matatabunan ang aming mga bahay kapag nagkaroon ng mga pagguho (We're afraid now more than ever as our houses will surely be hit once landslide occurs),” lamented a 61-year-old Aurea Nollego, who speaking in behalf of group of elderlies.

Earlier, the local DENR here disclosed that a permit to cut trees has been granted to the Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT), citing that the government-owned educational institution complied with the documents as required by the environment agency.

The government has provided 200 hectares of land for ASCOT.

Provincial DENR chief Alfredo Collado stated that ‘there is nothing wrong in granting permit to ASCOT dahil sinunod po nila ang tamang proseso na isinasaad ng batas (since they followed the right process as required by law).’

ASCOT is reportedly constructing a state-of-the-art building in preparation for ‘universityhood’ the school is long dreaming of.

But retired provincial DENR officer Benjamin Miña expressed dissenting opinion as he stressed that the entire Ermita Hill must be protected from any form of ‘disturbances,’ citing the significance of forest ranges as ‘windbreaker’ in times of typhoons or similar calamities.

"Kabundukan po ang pangunahing linya ng depensa laban sa mga bagyo o anumang unos, kaya dapat nating ingatan at ipreserba ang lahat ng kahalintulad ng Ermita Hill (Mountain ranges are the first line of defense against typhoons and rains, hence the need to protect and preserve sites like the Ermita Hill),” said Miña. Ariel P. Avendaño/Liezle Basa-Iñigo