BAGUIO CITY July 16 - The city government here, together with thousands of civic-minded individuals, commemorated the 20th anniversary of the July 16, 1990 killer earthquake by planting trees which illustrates new life for the present and future generations. Members of the local media, government employees and civic organizations bonded together in a massive tree planting activity at the Busol watershed, the main source of water of Baguio City and the nearby town of La Trinidad, Benguet, to show their snowballing support to the efforts of the local government and the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera to preserve and protect the remaining watersheds and forests in the region.
Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the city's growth after it was heavily devastated by the intensity 7.9 July 16, 1990 killer earthquake can be attributed the unity and cooperation of stakeholders who worked hard to lift the city up from the rubbles of the natural calamity. Aside from the tree planting activity, the various groups also staged a photo exhibit at Camp John Hay to reminisce the past through photographs and videos taken when the city was isolated from the rest of Luzon after the tremblor. The vital installations which were totally wrecked due to the earthquake that happened around 4:26 pm of July 16, 1990 include the Hyatt Terraces Hotel, Nevada Hotel, Hilltop Hotel, University of Baguio (UB) commerce building among others. For nearly two weeks, major roads leading to and from the city such as Kennon road, Marcos Highway, Naguilian road and Halsema highway were damaged due to numerous landslides and road cuts that prevented the smooth flow of vehicular traffic.
Domogan revealed the planted trees will be in memory of the over 200 people who died and the over 1,000 others who were seriously injured because of the tragic incident that shocked the whole world.The other cities affected by the tremblor include Dagupan City, Pangasinan; Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, San Fernando City, La Union and the Metro Manila area. Today, the local chief executive asserted the local government is now imposing the appropriate regulations in the construction of high-rise buildings pursuant to the results of soil and geohazard tests conducted in the city so that loss of lives and more serious damage to properties will be prevented in case of similar incidents in the future. According to him, the lessons from the occurrence of the earthquake is being treasured by the national and local governments to serve as guideposts in the formulation of future development plans considering the fact that the city is surrounded by various inactive faults which could trigger a bigger disaster if the local government has not laid the ground work for preventive measures.
Domogan stressed the urgency to preserve and protect the region's environment which is one of the important things to consider that will help avert serious effects of calamities since trees are important in holding the soil from being eroded during the occurrence of natural calamities. The RDC-CAR's effort of preserving and protecting the watersheds and forests will be a major thrust that must be inculcated in the minds of the people for the sake of safety and security.
