TREES are not considered a common poster area where candidates can display their campaign posters. In fact, they need to be protected from all forms of harm even before the official campaign period, which will only start on Feb. 8 for candidates for president, vice president, senator and party-list groups participating in the party-list system of representation, and on March 25 for candidates for members of the House of Representatives, regional, provincial, city and municipal officials.
Nailing, tacking or stapling of campaign materials such as tarpaulin banners and posters damages the protective bark and punctures the inside of a tree, allowing the entry of harmful organisms and eventually causing stress, inhibiting growth or even killing the tree.
All political wannabes must be reminded that injuring trees goes against Republic Act (RA) 3571 as amended by Presidential Decree (PD) 953. It is prohibited and is punishable.
RA 3571 enacted in 1963 prohibits the “cutting, destroying or injuring of planted or growing trees, flowering plants and shrubs or plants of scenic value along public roads, in plazas, parks, school premises or in any other public ground.”
PD 953 issued in 1976 makes it punishable for “any person who cuts, destroys, damages or injures, naturally growing or planted trees of any kind, flowering or ornamental plants and shrubs, or plants of scenic, aesthetic and ecological values.”
The said decree allows the “cutting, destroying, damaging or injuring” of trees “for public safety… and only upon the approval of the duly authorized representative of the head of agency or political subdivision having jurisdiction therein.”
Violators “shall be punished with imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than two years, or a fine of not less than five hundred pesos and not more than five thousand pesos, or with both such imprisonment and fine at the discretion of the court.”
So to all parties and individuals eyeing elective posts in the May 2022 polls, direct your campaign organizers and supporters not to harm trees. Also, provincial, city and municipal environment and natural resources offices must proactively take action to protect trees such as by removing campaign materials attached to trees and issuing notices of violation to concerned parties and individuals.
It is our shared responsibility to care for trees that help us fight global warming and climate change, purify the air, provide habitats for wildlife, prevent soil erosion and floods, and supply us with food, medicine, paper and other essentials.
