Bishop Victor Bendico of the Diocese of Baguio on Saturday assailed the cutting of 53 pine trees and one Norfolk fir by a real estate developer, which also caused an uproar among officials and city residents.

The property developer on June 20 began clearing the trees on the heavily forested hills of Barangay Outlook Drive for a 12-story residential condominium.

Bendico said the diocese "strongly opposes and considers as unacceptable the continuing mass killing of full grown and healthy trees."

He said in a statement that the developer's move "gravely rejects the moral principle of the social doctrine of the Church on safeguarding the environment."

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