Rico tree planting bill hailed

Man made forest in Bilar

 

By JUNE S. BLANCO 

YAHOO News has picked up the story on the tree planting bill introduced by Rep. Erico Aumentado (Bohol, 2nd District) and the article has since been swamped with good job comments.

One reader exhorted the people of the land to rejoice for having this lawmaker “who has a brain.” Another reader replied to that comment, saying that the solon has “a real and true great mind.”

Still another said the Aumentado bill was “sensible, well thought-off and has great benefits to nature and society.”

One reader however expressed apprehension that the tax holiday might be abused. She said greedy capitalists might encroach into lands that are not for sale in the first place, develop and claim them to be theirs alone thereby making the rich, richer and the poor, poorer.

In his reply to the above comment, another reader said safety nets must be put in place to guard against abuse. Trees are important, but so are taxes, he said.

House Bill 5461 aims to allow planters time to grow, nourish and nurture their trees before they are required to pay taxes and fees for them.

Aumentado said the taxes come only when these are being harvested for commercial purposes.

In his explanatory note, the solon observed that the slow reforestation effort on denuded lands is largely due to the lack of incentive from both the national and local governments.

More often than not, he said, local government units (LGUs) impose high realty taxes on trees as these are considered to be improvement on the taxable land. He said the “exorbitant local taxation” has discouraged land owners from planting forestal or even fruit-bearing trees.

Trees are important, he pointed out, because these serve as flood controls, typhoon breakers, and in the case of mangroves, tidal buffers which mitigate the impact of tidal action on the shorelines.

Trees also help preserve underground water, ensure the flow to rivers, creeks and streams that feed hydropower and facilities to irrigate rice lands, and in some cases, provide potable water to inhabitants.

Rampant, irresponsible and wanton cutting of trees causing denudation of forest land, private properties, idle lands and watershed areas of the public domain, however, have triggered devastating floods “causing tremendous damage to lives and properties,” Aumentado said.

He quoted internationally renowned architect Felino Palafox Jr. as saying that trees are elements of the environment, major components to flood controls as well as wind and tidal breakers, hence they must be preserved.

But, he said, preservation and reforestation efforts can be encouraged only by providing incentives like the Aumentado measure.

Once approved, his proposed “Tree Planting Seven-Year Incentive Act of 2012” will take effect 15 days after its publication in at least two national newspapers of general circulation.