Public Backlash Stops SALEX Tree Cutting Along Quirino Avenue—for Now
254 trees had already been cut for the new expressway.
Published on May 28, 2026
(SPOT.ph) When shade is already hard to come by in Manila, losing hundreds of roadside trees is bound to get people talking. After a week of public backlash, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said tree-cutting for the Southern Access Link Expressway (SALEX) has been temporarily suspended.
DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the agency is currently reviewing whether more trees can still be spared or relocated. The permit issued for the project covers up to 617 trees along Quirino Avenue, San Marcelino Street, and other areas near Roxas Boulevard, including Anda Circle.
“Right now, the cutting, they voluntarily stopped. We're agreeable to this. Itigil muna. Pag-aaralan pa nang husto, baka may mga maidagdag pa doon sa earth balling,” Cuna said during a forum.
By the time the activity was suspended on May 27, 245 trees had already been cut. Cuna said 94 others had been identified for possible transplantation, including 27 that had already undergone earth-balling (the process of moving a living tree with its roots and surrounding soil intact).
The tree-cutting is tied to SALEX, a San Miguel Corporation (SMC) infrastructure that will connect Skyway Stage 3 to Roxas Boulevard and other major routes in Manila. The 40.62-kilometer project was given the green light in June 2022. SALEX will have four planned sections: the C3-R10 Extension, Shoreline Expressway, Quirino Extension, and Buendia Extension.
On DENR's part, it said the tree removal was covered by the necessary permits, environmental safeguards, as well as long-term rehabilitation requirements that require them to plant 50,700 replacement seedlings in Manila.
Cuna described the issuance of tree-cutting permits as a “painful and heavy responsibility.”
“Gusto ko lang linawin, wala gustong pumutol ng puno, kasama na rin kami doon. Can you imagine how contradictory it is? So it pains us to also be the ones tasked,” Cuna said. “But it is necessary. What we want to convey to the public is that we have studied it well. We are doing things, coordinating with the proponent and with the local government unit of [Manila] on how we can address what happened.”
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"Our trees are not for SALEX"
Photos of felled trees along Quirino Avenue sparked anger among residents, heritage advocates, and environmental groups, who questioned why mature trees had to be removed in a city already dealing with extreme heat, flooding, and pollution.
Last week, Renacimiento Manila and Save Arroceros Movement urged Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to stop the cutting: “There is no transparency on the process, no public consultations that many are aware of, and even the website of Toll Regulatory Board’s most recent update was last March 10, 2023 indicating ‘On-going Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) Application with DENR.’”
They also pushed back against the idea that replacement planting can easily make up for what was lost, citing studies that found newly planted seedlings cannot immediately replace the cooling, shade, and flood-mitigation benefits of trees that have been growing for decades.
“These trees have provided shade, purified the air, minimized ambient heat, aided in drainage of rainwater, and beautified our city,” the groups said.
Caritas Philippines also condemned the cutting in a press release, with Bishop Gerardo Alminaza calling it an “act of ecological violence against the people of Manila.”
“These trees are being reduced to bleeding stumps to make way for another expressway under the disguise of “progress,” thereby, flattening our urban environment and once again, asking the poor to pay the highest price. Why must ‘development’ always demand the sacrifice of the vulnerable? Why are our cities designed for vehicles and concrete instead of for children, workers, pedestrians, and the elderly?” Alminaza said.
“We refuse to hide this injustice behind bureaucratic language. What is legal on paper is not automatically moral in the eyes of God.”
Also read: Arroceros Forest Park Records Cooler Temperature Than Manila
Micah believes that writing is always political. Beyond the byline, you’ll find her bruising herself on a pole or doting on her beagle. Reach her at micah@spot.ph.