On August 22, 2026, former Ifugao representative Teddy Baguilat raised concern over
social media: “In Palawan, more than 200,000 trees in natural and old growth forests
have been cut or earthballed. Because mining was allowed in the country’s last frontier
by DENR. And when the floods come, we only blame DPWH.”
His post hit on a classic local habit: every rainy season, when the streets flood, we
blame the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for clogged gutters while
ignoring the forest loss happening up in the mountains.
The 218,854 figure comes from environmental watchdogs the Environmental Legal
Assistance Center (ELAC) and the Save Palawan Movement who recorded the
numbers displayed on mining project billboards across southern Palawan.
However, public debate often confuses paper permits with actual trees lying dead on
the ground. Here is what those numbers mean, how environmental rules work, and
what questions remain.
What does the “200,000 trees” figure actually count?
The 218,854 figure is a count of trees covered by government permits, not an
independently verified count of trees already cleared from the land.
Under Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) rules, mining
companies must obtain a Special Tree Cutting and/or Earth-balling Permit (STC/EP)
an official authorization that lets a company chop down or relocate naturally growing
trees inside a project site.
According to reporting by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, ELAC documented this sum
across three mining operations:
- 87,090 trees in Bataraza (Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp.)
- 71,405 trees in Aborlan (Berong Nickel Corp.)
- 60,359 trees in Brooke’s Point (Ipilan Nickel Corp.)
To understand why a permit count differs from actual trees removed, think of a
barangay building permit.
Suppose your local barangay issues permits to build 100 houses. Does that mean 100
houses are standing today? Not necessarily. Some are fully built, some are halfway
done, and others are still vacant lots waiting for construction to start.
A permit tells us what the government has authorized on paper, not what has already
happened on the ground.
How does tree removal actually work?
When a permit is approved, trees are either cut down permanently (which requires
planting 100 replacement seedlings) or earth-balled—meaning dug up with roots intact
to be replanted elsewhere, much like moving a houseplant to a new pot, though it will
still die if it faces root shock or poor post-transplant care.
In the Berong Nickel Project, DENR approved 26,617 trees for phased cutting
(requiring 2.66 million replacement seedlings) and 43,743 saplings for earth-balling.
DENR rules require companies to maintain transplanted trees for 3 years, but official
survival reports remain kept in internal government logs rather than public dashboards.
Additionally, Palawan uses a land-use zoning map called ECAN (Environmentally
Critical Areas Network) administered by the Palawan Council for Sustainable
Development (PCSD). Commercial tree cutting is strictly banned in primary “old-growth”
forests and core protected zones. While permits are supposed to cover only secondary
forests or brushlands, environmental groups and DENR disagree on whether these
permitted areas overlap with old-growth canopy.
Why does forest loss cause flooding?
Baguilat’s post highlights why blaming DPWH alone for flooding misses the bigger
picture. Drainage pipes can only handle so much when the mountains above stop
holding water.
Trees act like nature’s flood barriers:
- Forested Slopes: Tree canopies break the fall of heavy rain, while deep root systems act like a giant natural sponge, absorbing water and locking soil into place.
- Bare Slopes: When trees and roots are cleared, rainwater streams across bare
dirt. The hillside turns into a tilted concrete driveway, sending fast-moving
water and mud rushing down into rivers, farms, and homes.
[Forest Clearing / Bare Dirt] ➔ [Faster Surface Runoff & Soil Erosion] ➔ [Clogged
Rivers & Downstream Flooding]
This dynamic led to high-level legal action. On August 15, 2023, the Supreme Court of
the Philippines issued a Writ of Kalikasan (G.R. No. 268140)—a high-court order that
protects constitutional rights to a healthy environment—against DENR, Ipilan Nickel
Corp., and Celestial Nickel Mining in Brooke’s Point.
Applying the Precautionary Principle, the Supreme Court warned that mining operations
in the Mt. Mantalingahan mountain range presented serious risks of irreversible harm,
explicitly pointing to extreme flooding and contaminated fishing areas as key
evidence.
What happens next?
To know the true impact of the 218,854 figure, four key issues must be watched:
- Unreleased Field Audits: DENR has not published an independently verified,
live count showing how many of those 218,854 permitted trees have actually
been felled, earth-balled, or left untouched. - Palawan’s 50-Year Mining Moratorium: On March 13, 2025, the Provincial
Government of Palawan passed Provincial Ordinance No. 3646, placing a 50-
year moratorium on local endorsements for new mining applications and
expansions. Legal battles continue over whether national DENR permits override
local provincial bans. - Indigenous Community Consent: Indigenous groups in Brooke’s Point (the
BICAMM ancestral domain) maintain that operations and tree clearances
proceeded without valid Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) under the
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (RA 8371). - Seedling Replacement Reality: While companies must plant 100 replacement
seedlings for every 1 tree cut (focusing on species like Pagatpat and Api-api), a
young plantation of tiny saplings cannot instantly match the flood-prevention
power, canopy cover, and soil stability of a mature natural forest.
Sources & References:
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR): STC/EP
Guidelines (DAO 2021-11) and Forest Management Bureau rules. - Supreme Court of the Philippines: BICAMM Ancestral Domain vs. DENR,
Ipilan Nickel Corp., and Celestial Mining, G.R. No. 268140 (Resolution issued
Aug. 15, 2023). - Provincial Government of Palawan: Provincial Ordinance No. 3646 (Enacted
March 13, 2025). - Civil Society & Media: Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC)
documentations, Philippine Daily Inquirer,
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