EFFECTS OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN WOODLAND AREAS IN BAGUIO CITY

EFFECTS OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN WOODLAND AREAS IN BAGUIO CITY

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in the Subject General Contemporary World

Jaymarck Andrei Gurtiza; Apple Faith Lapangan; Jayson Kieth Liwas;

Eden Olowan; Niña Nerrissa Divine Pattalitan

Saint Louis University

2019
EFFECTS OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN WOODLAND AREAS IN BAGUIO CITY

ABSTRACT

Baguio City is a chartered city located in the province of Benguet. The city is initially a

settlement of the native people and has changed as an urban city planned since the arrival of the

Americans in the country. This term paper identified ecological concerns specifically the scarcity of

woodland areas due to the rapid urbanization of Baguio City, and have analyzed the urban

development plans and the plans of the government to diminish ecological pressures. In recent years,

the rapid urbanization and development led to the deterioration of forest coverage as land use is now

allotted to construction and other urban needs.  This is due to the increase in population and

congestion in the city. Moreover, it sparked concerns from the local population as the rapid urban

development led to deforestation in the city and increasing pollution. With these, Baguio have contrived

local projects and preservation acts to alleviate the concerns. However, it must still create

countermeasures to mitigate or completely eliminate the detrimental effects of rapid urbanization in the

city.

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INTRODUCTION

Background

Baguio City, also known as the Summer Capital of the Philippines, is a landlocked highly

urbanized city in the heart of Cordillera Region surrounded by different municipalities in Benguet. On

the north by the capital town of La Trinidad, on the east by Itogon, and on the south to west is Tuba.

The city is roughly 4,810 feet (1470 meters) above sea level thus providing a cool climate and

promoting the growth of mossy plants and orchids. With the City Hall as point of reference, the city

extends 8.2 kilometers from east to west and 72 kilometers from north to south. It has a perimeter of

306 kilometers. As defined by its charter, The Baguio town site has an area of 48.9 square kilometers,

this was however amended by section 1826 of Republic Act 3092 of the Revised Administrative Code,

dated October 10, 1969, which proclaims the city’s area as 57.49 square kilometers. (Baguio City

Planning and Development, 1991). Baguio has a population of 345,366 according to the latest census

in 2015.  

The City is accessible from the lowland areas via three national roads namely, Quirino Highway

better known as Naguilian Road, Kennon Road, and the Marcos Highway. The Ambuclao Road and

Halsema Highway which are both originating from the city lead to the mountain provinces. The

presence of the Baguio Loakan Airport at the southern end of the city provides accessibility via air

transport. It has been proposed for further development as an international transport facility.

Problem

The Office of the City Planning and Development stated that, Baguio’s development from a

mere mountain settlement started in the early 1990’s when the Americans first arrived. They planned to

develop the place into a health resort where they find respite from the sweltering heat of lowland areas.

An urban development program was conceptualized complete with a physical framework plan. This

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gave birth to the well-known Burnham Plan which laid down the foundations of the development of a

compact garden city for 25,000 people.

Together with these urban development efforts was the enactment of a City Charter which

provided for the independent management and administration of the city. This was finally approved on

September 1, 1909, and thus the city of Baguio was born. Subsequent developments saw the opening

of Kennon Road to vehicular traffic that triggered the mining boom in 1930 to 1937. The event of the

second World war in 1942 drastically cut short this growth and practically left the city in total

devastation.

The following years showed a picture of a fast growing city and to date it has attained a level of

development as the premier urban center of the North and the Cordilleras performing a multiplicity of

roles as an educational, employment, tourism, and regional administrative center. However, rapid

urbanization and population growth are straining the city’s resources. Such developments are

beginning to take a toll on the people’s well-being and on the environment such as the loss of green

and open spaces, problems in waste management and traffic jam. These issues have been brewing for

many decades, but have recently been the focus of concern during rallies to save a pine stand at a

popular mall in the city. Also, these have gained media attention and landed in front pages of the

national papers.

Numerous constituents of the city are worried about the health of the Baguio urban ecosystem

especially the loss of woodland areas and the seemingly uncontrolled development in the city. They

have expressed their concerns through the media, statements, rallies, and mass actions. These actions

have involved Baguio old-timer, the religious sector, the young and old, students, professionals, the

urban poor, activists, environmentalists, from all walks of life.

Significance

This term paper is aimed at providing an overview, facts and figures, and analysis of the Baguio

urban development and how it affects the woodland areas in the city. Its further goal is to address gaps

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of knowledge and provide systematic understanding on the subject to urge the constituents to preserve

and protect the remaining pine stands in the locality.

BODY

Urbanization in Baguio City and its Consequences

The total population of the region reached up to 1.7 million based on the 2015 census of

Population (PSA, 2016) with the population of Baguio City reaching up to 345 thousand. The population

growth rate of the city (PGR) is 1.54%. As of 2015, this makes Baguio the second fastest growing

province in the region behind Benguet (excluding the Baguio) with 1.91% during the time period of 2011

to 2015. The city is generally populated by native groups such as Ilocanos and Igorots with the

inclusion of other lowland groups such as Pangasinenses, Tagalogs and Kapampangans.

With this growth of population, SA-CAR Statistical Operational and Coordination Division

Chief Aldrin Bahit Jr. (2018) stated, “Baguio City remains crowded and overpopulated

considering its small land area and population density of 6,500 persons per square kilometer

compared to the population density of the whole region of 87 persons per square kilometer,

Cordillera population reaches 1.7M.”

The overpopulation and high density can be attributed to the urbanization and land use

of the area. The initial plan of urbanizing Baguio can be credited by the initial plans of the

Americans to create a highland recreation area that also contributed to the Burnham plan and

its revisions.

Another factor is the notions of prosperity in an urban setting. A mentality among the

people is that there are more opportunities in a city such as better quality education, more

work opportunities and business investments.

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This led to the motivation to transform the area and leading it to its development. During

the last two decades, the expansion of Baguio city’s built-up area (urban, residential, industrial,

institutional, and areas occupied by other man-made structures) has been tremendous

( Estoque & Murayama, 2011).  Thus, the consideration of Baguio’s carrying capacity is

neglected as to accommodate the growing population and urban development in the area.

A study conducted by Estoque and Murayama (2012) has shown the rapid urbanization

of Baguio City by comparing the lands used by forests, brushlands, croplands, and built-up

structures within the city. This can be seen in Fig. 1, wherein the area used up by built-up

structures were getting bigger and bigger from 1988 to 2009.

Figure 1. Remote sensing-derived LUC maps of Baguio for: (a) 1988; (b) 1998; and (c) 2009. (Extracted from:
Estoque & Murayama)

During a Sustainable Mobility Forum at the University of the Philippines (UP) Baguio on

April 20, Master of Urban Development student Michelle Garcia shared that a person needs at

least five square meters to move stress-free in a public space. Vehicles like cars require at
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least 12 sq.  m., 18 sq. m. for jeepneys, and 10 sq. m. for motorbikes. The city’s carrying

capacity issue particularly traffic has caused the loss of at least P14.2 million for business

establishments in Session Road and P1.7 M for the city government (Malingan, 2018).

This recent trend in urban development is characterized as an urban sprawl as a

discontinuous, fragmented/leapfrog development, with random population densities (Gonzales,

2016). This trend can be seen in the recent urban development in Baguio city.

In recent years, the trend of rapid urban development at the expense of forest coverage

in the area has reached at an alarming rate. This form of development is characterized by the

increase of construction and built-ups with disregard for the limited land coverage of forests.

Land use policies advocate in the rapid expansion of lands for residential use and other

infrastructures.

One recent example was the further construction of the Skyranch and expansion of SM

Baguio. In 2012, online petitions and public uproar sparked in the plans of expansion by SM

that damages the ecological integrity and forest coverage in the city. Environmental groups

were alarmed at the construction and removal and transfer of Alnus and pine trees in the area.

Despite protest, the corporation was granted a construction permit and thus continued with the

plans. As of 2019, the supreme court halts the continuation of cutting down trees in the area by

making the temporary restraining order issued in 2015 permanent. The initial approval and

continuation of construction is an example of the urban development in Baguio that neglects

the environmental integrity of the area.   

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Impacts of Rapid Urbanization and Deforestation

The Benguet pine forest offer opportunities for the development of human capacity to

alleviate the status of forest-dwellers and promote economic growth in the ecoregion. The pine

forest is coming under increasing pressure and being abused and misused. Once deforested it

will result in the impairment of the upland hydrologic cycle (Ganzon, 2003).

Consequently, rapid urbanization and loss of forest coverage led to environmental

issues and resource depletion in Baguio City. The rise in population led to the accumulation of

wastes and shortage of water supply. And the growth of population also puts pressure on the

remaining ecological areas in the city such as watersheds. In addition, the loss of forest cover

exposes the city to soil erosion due to heavy rain and to an extent earthquakes and other

calamities. Baguio City is currently stripped of a significant portion of the pine forest that had

since served to resupply and replenish Baguio’s aquifers (Gonzales, 2016).

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) portrayed Baguio

City’s green and forest cover spans about 30% of Baguio’s territory. The total forest cover was

accounted as 1,600 hectares. According to an article by the Philippine Daily Inquirer (2019),

Baguio City needs to protect the remaining 2.5 million trees in the city. The pine tree clusters

are sick and dying in the area with the DENR had allowed 200 infested trees to be cut in Camp

John Hay, the largest concentration of trees in the area as per the article.    

Strategies in Sustainable Urban Development and Analysis

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Urban development and regulation of land use highlighted that under the great pressure

of urbanization, there is a need to strengthen the proper implementation of policies in order to

maintain and improve ecosystem services (Estoque, 2012). This may be difficult to do as the

large population with its unique corresponding responses.

One example is the waste management and cleanliness of the people during

Panagbenga, a famous festival in Baguio city. According to Anthony de Leon, co-chairman of

the Panagbenga Executive committee, the discipline of the people and their individual

responses to the presence of waste bins is an issue despite implementation of waste

management strategies during the festivities (See, D., n/d.).

Another example is the presence of squatters at Busol watershed and the presence of

illegal structures. As of 2016, the local government issued a directive in the inventory and

demolition of illegal structures in the area. However this signifies the presence of illegal settlers

present at Busol as the presence of illegal structures defy the government protection of the

watershed. One can infer that the discipline of the people and the implementation of

preservation strategies to be factors in the alleviation of forest loss.

Another factor may be due to the rate of government policies in which policies should be

strictly implemented. An example of which is the expansion of SM as approved and permitted

by the local government without further review in the implications of expansion to the forest

coverage in the city. In addition, the lack of personnel may also attribute to the slow

development of reforestation plans. According to the City Environment and Parks management

Office (CEPMO) staff, only two personnel were   assigned to forest protection.

Therefore, the overall cooperation of the local government and of the people is of

importance to the preservation of forest coverage in Baguio City. With the fast-paced

urbanization of the city, public spaces are being replaced with towering buildings and hotels

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and people lost track of human interaction. UP Baguio Architect Aris Go encouraged everyone

to promote the importance of social interaction and a close-knit community and urged that we

must plan “not the Baguio we want, but the Baguio we need” (Balibay, 2018). The loss of forest

coverage has been a long concern for the city of Baguio along with the deterioration of

endemic tree species such as the Baguio Pine. Hence, such strategies for the protection of the

remaining forested areas would be necessary to address the growing concern of the rapid

urbanization of Baguio city.

Local projects and preservation acts have been implemented in Baguio city with project

Buyong as an example. Project Buyong aims to preserve the remains of the Buyong

watershed as a requisite to the planned disposition for housing purposes of the occupied

areas.  The local government has issued a memorandum of agreement on the protection of the

watershed wherein strategies for its protection would include conducting surveys of “the actual

occupied areas of the watershed and that upon identification of the inhabited portion the

occupants will not expand into the unoccupied areas and will undertake measures to help

protect the watershed from intrusion by squatters”. (Refuerzo, A., n/d.).

CONCLUSION

The city of Baguio is undergoing urbanization at a very alarming rate. Although it has its

advantages such as economic influx and alleviation of forest-dwellers’ status, the detrimental

effects of urbanization outweigh these advantages by far larger scale. One of the most

detrimental effect of urbanization in Baguio City is the loss of forestlands within the vicinity.

Losing these forestlands results to resource depletion and  environmental issues such as soil

erosion, higher temperatures and unfiltered air within the city. Overpopulation also poses a

threat to the remaining ecological areas such as forests, watershed, and aquifers. Production

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of large amounts of wastes, as well as water shortages are also caused by the large

population in Baguio City.

With these, the city of Baguio must create countermeasures to mitigate, or if possible,

completely eliminate the bad effects of the rapid urbanization in the city. A very simple yet

critical strategy in helping solve this problem is a strict implementation of laws. By

implementing the laws/ordinances within Baguio City, illegal deforestation and other

detrimental actions of both tourists and locals alike will less likely be committed and possible

damage to the city will be mitigated. The cooperation of the locals and tourists is also a must,

as this problem is not only for the government to solve, but for everyone in Baguio City to

solve. Local projects and preservation acts should still be continued to help alleviate the

concerns of rapid urbanization.

The problem of rapid urban development in Baguio City is a problem that must be acted

upon right away, as it can lead to irreversible effects in the future. This is why proper actions

must be taken to help mitigate or eliminate the bad effects of rapid urban development and to

help solve the problems that it poses to Baguio City.

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REFERENCES

Alimondo, L. (2018). Cordillera population reaches 1.7M. Retrieved from    

    https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/413191

Balibay, Aurora & Quadra. (2018, May 17).  How Baguio is being saved from being the

next         Boracay. Retrieved from https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news

Cabreza, V. (2019). Baguio has 2.5M trees to protect. Philippine Daily Inquirer Retrieved

from         https://www.pressreader.com/

CNN Philippines. (2019). SC halts cutting, balling of trees in Baguio mall's expansion.

Retrieved         April, from http://cnnphilippines.com/news

Corpuz, V. et al (2012). Indigenous Perspectives in the Baguio Urban Ecosystem.

Tebtebba. Vol. 10.

Department of Interior and local Government CAR (n.d.). Baguio City: GOVPH.

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ESSC. (2011). Low forest cover in the Philippines : Issues and responses at the

community level. Retrieved from http://essc.org.ph/content/lview/579/1/

Estoque, R & Murayama Y (2011). City Profile: Baguio. Cities.240-251. 30.

        10.1016/j.cities.2011.05.002.

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Estoque, R. & Murayama, Y. (2012). Examining the potential impact of land use/cover

changes         on the ecosystem services of Baguio city, the Philippines: A

scenario-based analysis.         Applied geography. Vol. 35(1-2).

316-326.

Ganzon, Filmorie G. (2003). Sustainable Forest Management of Benguet Pine in the

Cordillera,         Philippines. Retrieved from

http://www.fao.org/3/XII/0805-B1.htm

Gonzales, L. B. (2016). Urban Sprawl: Extent and Environmental Impact in baguio City,

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Indigenous Perspectives. (2012).On the Baguio Urban ecosystem. Volume 10. Tebteba        

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Malingan, Jamie Joie. (2018). Building the Baguio We Need. Retrieved from       

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1007509.amp

Philippine Statistics Authority. (2016). Population of the Cordillera Administrative Region

(Based         on the 2015 Census of Population). Retrieved from

https://psa.gov.ph

Refuerzo, A. (n.d.). Gov’t, residents agree to protect buyog. The City Government of

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