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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Pines City no longer? Baguio rehab pushed

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An official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Sunday raised alarm over the geo-hazards facing  Baguio City and Benguet, which are prone to landslides.

Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Unit Concerns Benny Antiporda also expressed concerns over the traffic situation in Baguio City, saying the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will consider the tourist spot’s rehabilitation following the rehabilitation and cleanup of Boracay Island in Aklan, El Nido in Palawan and Panglao in Bohol.

He also lamented the loss of the city’s pine smell as a result of air pollution.

“A study showed 70 percent of the areas in Baguio [City and even] in Benguet are geo-hazards or prone to landslides. Because of such, we will immediately focus our concern on these. We do not want a repeat of the Hyatt tragedy,” he said, referring to a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that destroyed the 12-story Hyatt Terraces Baguio on July 16, 1990, during which 50 people were killed.

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“We all know that most of the soil in Baguio [City] are saturated and its rocks are [already] fractured,” he added.

Baguio City has yet to cope up with the traffic woes arising from the influx of its visitors, especially during the holidays.

“Sad to say, because of the city’s [geographic] mountainous structures, we cannot do the expansion of road network,” Antiporda said.

He added the city has already lost its distinctive pine smell due to air pollution

The department will  work out with the Baguio City government to consider the use of electric vehicles to lower the pollution level of the place, he said.

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