IT IS utterly bizarre how things can go wrong in a few seconds, a few minutes, a few hours. It only goes to show that we have limited control of time. We can only control our personal circumstances vis-à-vis the available time in our hands but the moment it passes we cannot undo what has been done, good or evil. Such is the heartbreaking fate of the Acacia trees in my Taloto neighborhood.
As I left Tagbilaran City for a short break in General Santos City for the Holy Week, news reached me via social media that four Acacia trees in my neighborhood in Baguio Drive (formerly Little Baguio) in Barangay Taloto, Tagbilaran City were shockingly felled to pave the way for the construction of a gasoline station!
True enough, the savagery sparked an uproar, and righteous indignation followed in many forms, even up to this writing.
But really, who would not get furious with this blatant disrespect and violation of nature? These thriving and surviving giant Acacia trees which had grown quietly and unobtrusively, providing shelter and shade to commuters, pedestrians, vendors, and people from all social classes over a span of several decades had to die for business! How low can we get?
Let me take you back in time, to 1974, when we first relocated to Little Baguio (now Baguio Drive) in Barangay Taloto, in my birth city of Tagbilaran. At the time, it was strange to hear adults from Taloto proper say, “Little Baguio” or “Baguio” when they referred to our residence. It did not occur to me that “Little Baguio” was a description of the overall feel of the place.
It was called “Little Baguio” then, and now, “Baguio Drive” because of the abundance of trees in the area, particularly the Acacia trees, bestowing a cool breeze.
Even seminarians from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary located in Taloto who used to walk the stretch from the seminary to the Taloto-Ubujan-Dao Junction to await passenger jeepneys and tricycles took shelter from one of the destroyed Acacia trees that found itself exactly on the corner where a waiting shed used to stand. Seminarians who are now priests and retired priests have their stories to tell about these Acacias.
Thus, growing up in Little Baguio, I saw with my own two eyes the healthy, sturdy, and blossoming Acacia trees and they distinctly formed part of my childhood.
Of course, at present, with all the commercial establishments sprouting in the area, the “Baguio feel” is diminishing but thank God the trees of my childhood are still standing.
For instance, right across from our house four Acacia trees are still flourishing, and on both sides of the house, you can still see Acacia trees by the roadside. In fact, random checkpoints are done across our house because of the shade provided by the trees. I did not assume this information; I spoke to the police officers who staffed the checkpoints.
I cannot help but feel nostalgic about the loss of the precious Acacia trees. The trees, in all their unpretentious glory, quietly watched the cycle of growth and decay of the city – even before we transferred residence in Taloto in 1974 – up until they were butchered! They were neither watered nor cultivated yet they kept on growing, weathering the storms; absorbing the heat; rejoicing when it rained. Just like us ordinary mortals.
I do not understand why the trees must die. It must be hard to reach a point of equilibrium between business and sustainable environment huh!
I will be glad if this issue goes to court. I am relieved that individuals are taking the cudgels to right this wrong because we know the history of government. When government employees, whether elected or appointed, are not held accountable, the same mistake is bound to be repeated especially when the outrage has let up, and the people have forgotten.
Sadly, in all this, a part of my childhood memory has been seared.
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Kabiling Lunhaw invites everyone in the city of Tagbilaran to celebrate Earth Day 2023/Commemorate the Acacia Trees at the site of the felled trees at Baguio Drive, Barangay Taloto, Tagbilaran City on April 22, 2023, from 3:00-6:00 in the afternoon. Assembly Area is at Sales Residence in Baguio Drive, Taloto, Tagbilaran City.
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The writer hosts Woman Talk with Belinda Sales at 91.1 Balita FM Tagbilaran City every Saturday, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. She can be reached at belindabelsales@gmail.com. Twitter @ShilohRuthie/PN
