Philippine Arbor Day: We Need to Plant More Native Trees

Today, June 25, is Philippine Arbor Day. It's a day meant to highlight and celebrate the importance of trees. It's a day for raising awareness about the environment as well as encouraging individuals and communities to plant trees. 

This is why hundreds of tree-planting activities were conducted today all over the country by local government units and private organizations. According to the DENR, around 4,000,000 trees in total were planted in today's activities. 

Let's hope that these tree-planting activities focused on planting native trees, not invasive or introduced species of trees. During interactions with foresters, I've learned that many tree-planting activities in the country are counter-productive because these involve planting trees that upset a local region's biodiversity instead of enriching it. 

This point was driven home when I attended a talk by Ethan Hernandez (forester, content creator) last month in Baguio City. Hernandez pointed out the problem with these tree-planting activities that involve introduced species while highlighting the importance of planting native species of trees. 

The point is we should plant more native trees. Like this wild fig tree laden with fruits that we saw during a hike in between Pasdong and Naguey in Atok, Benguet. The Ibaloys call this tree "tebbel" or "tebfel". The Kankana-eys call it "labay" or "ballay". 

Here's a fun fact: the town of Itogon declared this tree as their "municipal tree".

Baguio City: Street Art or Vandalism

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺? I saw these wall markings at the pedestrian bridge along Bonifacio Street. It reminded me of the never-ending debate on what constitutes urban art and when it should be considered as vandalism. 

Baguio City has been tackling vandalism issues for as long as I can remember. Last year, Councilor Van Dicang proposed an amendment to the Anti-Graffiti Code of Baguio City. The proposed amendment includes the creation of legal art zones in the city where street artists can freely express their craft. If I'm not mistaken, this proposed ordinance was approved by the city council on second reading on January of this year.

Also, even before this proposed ordinance by Councilor Dicang, a very similar ordinance was proposed by Councilor Leandro Yangot in 2024. Yangot called for the designation of artistic spaces in barangays of the city. This way, urban artists can use these designated spaces as their canvas instead of defacing public structures and private properties.

Photo: Baguio City Public Market in the Late 1980s

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗼 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟬𝘀. I was browsing through a travel/adventure book published in 1990 by Reader's Digest when I came across this interesting photo. The caption for the photo says it was taken at the Baguio City public market where "𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴" were being sold.

A Century-Old Narra Tree Inside the Benguet State University (BSU) Campus?

𝗔 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆-𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗦𝗨 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘀? A recent Facebook post by the College of Forestry of the Benguet State University stated that this large narra tree (𝘗𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘴) standing outside the BSU-SLS building may be more than 100 years old.

According to the post, forest experts from the college made the 100-plus age estimate "based on the tree's size and growth characteristics".

It could be. BSU was established in 1916 as the La Trinidad Farm School. For the narra tree there to be more than 100 years old, it should've been planted there between 1916 and 1926. 

If you ever pass by the tree there, go for a closer look. It's a magnificent tree. Especially with its golden-yellow flowers.

Narra trees are considered a threatened species in the Philippines.

Entering Naguey, Atok, Benguet from Pasdong

Coming from the side of Pasdong, you enter the community of Naguey in Atok, Benguet. The community is overlooking the Amburayan River. Ricefields and farms dot the slopes of the nearby mountains.

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻?

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻? There are several theories on how these animals came to our region.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝟭: Horses arrived in the Cordillera region way before the Philippines was colonized by Spain. Chinese historical accounts show that there were busy trading ports in what is now modern Pangasinan and La Union. Merchants from China and Japan arrived at these ports to do business. Merchants during these times didn't just trade goods, they also traded animals. It's possible that their ships came with horses. 

It's also an established fact that pre-colonial Igorots often went down to the lowlands (Agoo, etc.) to trade. So it's possible that Igorots bought horses with their precious gold. 

However, this theory is contested by many historians citing that there's no record of horses from China/Japan being traded in Pangasinan/La Union trading ports. They add however that there's evidence of donkeys being carried by these trading ships. A Chinese shipwreck for example, contained donkey bones, not horse bones.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝟮: Malaysians brought horses to southern Mindanao (also in pre-colonial times). Through trade and ports, these horses made their way to Luzon and eventually to the mountains of the Cordillera region. There's very good evidence that horses were indeed brought to Mindanao from neighboring Malaysia. However, there's no evidence that these horses found their way all the way to Luzon. 

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝟯: Horses were introduced by the Spaniards. This is the most accepted theory as it's backed by historical evidence and accounts. The Spaniards tried numerous times to put the Igorots under their control. Expensive expeditions were launched to map the Cordillera region and subjugate the local populations. Hundreds of horses were used during these expeditions. 

The Spaniards were able to set up many command posts (comandancias) within the Cordillera region. Travel to these comandancias often utilized horses. 

*The accompanying image is from the digital archives of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. It shows a young man and a pony in Bontoc, Mountain Province. Taken between 1898 and 1912.

Happy "International Day for Biological Diversity"!

Today is 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆. This is celebrated annually on the 22nd of May. It aims to bring into focus topics and issues related to biodiversity. This year's theme is "𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵." Individuals, organizations, and communities are encouraged to take action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

The Cordillera region, due to its mountains and forests, is a biodiverse region. It's home to a wide and rich variety of living things. 

Let's take Mt. Pulag for example. Mt. Pulag, especially at the summit looks like it's devoid of native wildlife. But that is not the case. As the infographic guide (Mammals of Mt. Pulag National Park) that accompanies this post shows, the mountain is home to a diverse wildlife which includes the imposing Warty Pig and the very elusive Greater Dwarf Cloud Rat. 

This infographic and guide was created by the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago with the help of the DENR and the National Museum of the Philippines. The guide was based on a biological survey conducted in Mt. Pulag and nearby areas in 2008.