By Paulo Loreto Lim

House Bill 7373, which mandates the planting of trees and co-sponsored by Abang Lingkod partylist Rep. Stephen Paduano, passed the House of Representatives earlier this week on its third and final reading.

The policy is a combination of two previously-submitted bills. House Bill 772 by outgoing Diwa partylist Rep. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, which requires tree-planting for various purposes; and House Bill 3290 by North Cotabato second district Rep. Nancy Catamco, which order canopy trees and various flora when constructing buildings.

If signed into law, applicants for building permits will be required to submit a Tree Planting Plan, which would include the total land area for the project, layout where trees would be planted, the number of trees to be planted, the species of plants, and certain design aspects.

According to the bill, one tree must be planted for every 500 square meters (sq. m) of land zoned for commercial or industrial purposes, and one for every 250 sq. m for housing developments.

The bill also cites Presidential Decree 953, signed in 1976 by then-President Ferdinand Marcos, which required the planting of trees to provide shade and a “healthful environment,” along with penalizing those who engage in unauthorized tree-clearing operations.

Earlier this month, the  Energy Development Corporation conducted a tree-planting in Barangay Calabnugan in Sibulan, Negros Oriental.

Over 200 volunteers took part in the event, where balete, tabugay, taruy, talo-ot, pili, and kube trees planted.

The project was part of their 10M in 10 for a Greener Negros movement, which has planted over 2.5 million trees across Negros, over a span of 3,000 hectares./PLL, WDJ