The mountain ranges of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) is one of the major strongholds of the country against climate change. And its precious timbers are hot in the eyes of illegal loggers. In 2022, more than P5.7 million worth of illegally cut lumber were confiscated while 60 individuals were arrested by the Police Regional Office-Cordillera.

 

The continuous illegal logging in the region is also the reason why its forest area is not expanding, a 2020 study found. 

 

According to the a group of researchers in the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),their study “Reforestation and Deforestation in Northern Luzon, Philippines: Critical Issues as Observed from Space,”  revealed that there was no significant increase in the forest covering Luzon, Sierra Madre and Cordillera from 2001 to 2018.

 

In an environmental symposium held in UP Baguio last March, Teddy Baguilat, an environmental defender who is a native of Ifugao, shared how the CAR is experiencing destructive activities.

 

Slash and build

 

“Our own region of the Cordilleras, dito mo talaga matutunghayan ang kalikasan,” Baguilat proudly shared. “Unfortunately, because of logging, mining, real estate projects, and even plantation culture, winasak natin etong mga ecosystems natin.”

 

Human activities are known to be the biggest contributor to climate change according to a report by The Guardian in 2021, especially big corporations that continue to exploit the environment to further increase their sales.

 

In 2015, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order for SM Supermarket in Baguio City to stop them from cutting down over 182 pine and alnus trees after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) gave them the approval to expand their mall. In 2019, SM attempted another expansion for its Sky Park Project in Luneta Hill, which prompted the high court to render the TRO permanent.

 

Vista Residences, a condominium development under the Villars’ company, Vista Land & Lifescapes, Incorporated, was given a permit by DENR in 2018 that allowed them to cut 53 Benguet pine trees and a Norfolk pine in Purok 3 Outlook Drive for a construction project. 

 

In 2020, the permit was put to use. There was a deal with the company to compensate by planting 200 tree seedlings for every tree that got cut down, amounting to 10,800 seedlings. However, no statement nor update was made or posted by Vista Residences about the promised tree seedlings since then.

 

The environment continues to struggle to survive and win its fight against big corporations that hide their plans of malls, condominiums, and subdivisions under the guise of “development”. In a 2021 report of the Global Forest Watch (GFW), the Baguio City forest lost over 40 hectares from tree cutting from 2001 to 2021.

 

Unfortunately, problems in the environment do not just end in deforestation.

 

Overflowing waste

 

Side by side with deforestation is the staggering amount of landfill that continues to pollute the lands and the seas.

 

“Ako kasi mahilig magdive,” he shared, a seemingly lighthearted fact about a hobby but actually bears a heavy situation that highlights the state of the coastal ecosystems. “Kaso lang kapag ako nagdadive, andami kong nakikitang basura. And most of these are plastics.”

In Session Road alone, the installment of trash bins still cannot mitigate all waste both from tourists and residents, especially on weekends. According to the General Service Office (GSO), Baguio's waste went from 402 tons in 2015 to 581 tons in 2022.

 

The volume of tourists after pandemic restrictions have been lifted contributes to the ever growing amount of landfill and other environmental problems in Baguio City, such as traffic and cramped spaces among others.

 

Inevitably, waste management has become a problem for the city as well. While 69% out of the 581 tons were sent to the Materials Recovery Facility, the cost of solid waste management remains expensive. The city government spent P186 million last year alone in the city’s expenditures for waste management, which is why talks of privatizing it are in the works. This would cut the current number by P45 million.

 

Long-term consequences

 

“The biggest issue of your generation, is climate change,” Baguilat started off. “Kahit ‘di siya masyadong napag-uusapan, pero para sa akin, ‘yan ang pinakamahalagang usapin ng inyong henerasyon — how to fight climate change.”

 

The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, the Climate Change Knowledge Portal inferenced based on their statistics dating from 1980 to 2020. Since 1990, the death toll from the 565 disasters experienced by the country stands at 70,000--with over $23 billion in infrastructure damages. The country also tops the WorldRiskIndex (WRI) list of states with the highest disaster risk (vulnerability to extreme natural events and climate change). 

 

In the Cordilleras, Benguet, which is a vegetable-based agriculture area, has been experiencing the effects of climate change in the forms of  landslides, soil nutrient depletion, and crop failure due to the unpredictable fluctuations in temperature, the United Nations-Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) reported in 2015.

 

The same report notes the province of Ifugao’s long droughts or typhoons because of the province’s vulnerability to landslides and irregular rainfalls, which greatly affects the farmers’ livelihood of producing rice and other crops. 

 

During the climate change summit February this year, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong stated the plan to transform Baguio into a "smart, livable, green, and sustainable city”. 

 

"We must work together to implement sustainable practices in our daily lives and this includes reducing waste, conserving water, and using environmentally friendly product," Magalong said.

 

Youth in action

 

 Amidst the country’s  environmental situation, the critical youth makes Baguilat optimistic.Hence, he challenged them  to continue helping in forwarding the calls and advocacies for the environment, climate change and indigenous peoples’ rights, just like other societal issues.

 

Meanwhile, the symposium gained a positive response from the audience who expressed strong commitment in forwarding environmental justice and encouraging their fellow youth to join the fight.

 

“The youth have a deeper and more genuine understanding of the need to address climate change as a global issue and, more importantly, as an issue concerning the Cordillera Region, where environmental defenders are being attacked by the state,” said CJ Martinez, a student of the UPB. “Their role manifests itself greatly in the way they echo the experiences of the people as well as the current situation of the environment.”

 

Justine Dulfo, a student activist, shared her own sentiments: “As part of the generation that is deeply involved in social media, we have the direct power to reach a wider network of people to better understand what climate change really implies even for areas outside the capital such as the Cordillera.”

 

Furthemore, Baguilat emphasized how the general population can learn from them, in treating the environment better. “Invite and learn more from indigenous people,” Baguilat encouraged. 

 

Indigenous groups are on the frontlines, fighting all over the country to prevent the further destruction of the environment. While most people are afraid about natural resources running out, IPs are more concerned about the survival of the generations that will come after them.

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— Joellene Landingin