Earthballing permit should be rectified into cutting permit. This will save the valuable wood that can be used for a lot of purposes like donating it to schools and other institutions to meet their needs for chairs, building materials, furniture and others. Moreover, cutting will have less carbon footprint: chainsaws that will be used in cutting and bucking will be fueled by unleaded gasoline and the sawmill where the logs will be converted into lumber should be electric run.

The money to be spent in balling and transplanting can be used for some compensatory activities. What SM is doing is basically compliance of the permit issued by the DENR. SM cannot just refute the earthballing permit because DENR is the agency that has the technical expertise. Therefore, SM assumed that the earthblling permit is correct, without realizing that it will become the source of controversy and will be the main focus of public outrage. Since development has to start on time, SM has to abide by the earthballing permit issued by the DENR. The Benguet Pine and Alnus trees are not proclaimed heritage trees or centennial trees or historical trees. I hope and pray that there is still a room to rectify the earthballing permit into cutting permit.

On SM City Baguio Expansion Project. On SM development, the DENR Secretary cannot subvert the right of the private land owner particularly if the land that will be developed is really legitimate private land. The land is located at Luneta hill. It is not a heritage site, not culturally and historically significant area, and not a proclaimed greenspace. Furthermore, it is not within environmentally critical area. The claim that the area is sitting on a fault line is incorrect. The fault lines are 9 and 11 kilometers away from Luneta hill.

Greenspace as required by law. The SM Expansion project if to be pursued, there will still be more than enough space in the premises of the property that will be saved and continuously be used as greenspace. SM Property at that Luneta hill has a total area of 8 hectares, the existing mall covers 1.9 hectares while the expansion area is only 1.1 hectares or a total of 3 hectares built up area. This means that SM has 5 hectares of open space or 62.5 % which is more than double than the 30% open space that is required by law (PD 953). From the inventory conducted by DENR, the SM property, at present, hosts diversity of tree species. There are 701 grown trees representing more than twenty species of trees.

Compensatory activities. The DENR requires SM to replace 30 saplings for every tree (a ratio set by the DENR presumably based on the capacity of the seedlings/saplings to sequester CO2 and O2 in lieu of one grown tree) that will be removed from site or a total of 5460 saplings for all the 182 trees. This is despite the fact that the trees are to be balled and transplanted based on the permit.

A show of sincerity and willingness of SM to compensate the 182 trees to be removed from site, it committed to plant 50,000 saplings of Benguet Pine or other native species in and around Baguio City. Moreover, it is willing to adopt parks in Baguio City.

Accordingly, SM has already planted 2,000 saplings of B Pines at Busol Watershed and is supporting the maintenance of the trees and protection of the area. There will be 48,000 more saplings that will be planted by SM in collaboration with DENR and the Baguio Re-greening movement.

Green Architecture. The SM multi-function building is a green building. It has a sky garden that can compensate for the 182 trees in terms of CO2 sequestration. This skygarden can be a model for Baguio. It has rainwater harvesting, STP, park finders and others. It is, accordingly, an earthquake proof designed multi-function facility. The parking area will provide better parking environment. Cars are not exposed to environmental elements like sunlight that may cause heat island (albedo) effect. It will solve the problem of parking along the roads that is causing traffic in Baguio.

The presence of SM in Baguio City is changing the city's image from ukay-ukay city to a more attractive city. Definitely, SM City Baguio is a threat to local businesses. However, it will provide friendly competition - a healthy environment for business and consumers.*