TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte – The Department of Tourism (DoT) has declared this city as the “Palm City of the Philippines” after finding out that the 12-year-old capital city of Davao del Norte boasts of the most number of Palm trees among the country’s urban communities.

City Mayor Rey T. Uy said that more than 25,000 Palm trees have been planted by the city government along the national, provincial, city, and barangay (village) roads, in local parks and plazas, residential subdivisions, public and private elementary, secondary and tertiary schools, vacant areas around national, provincial and city government buildings, and backyards of private homes in urban villages of the city.

Uy said the city’s original Palm tree seedlings of some 20 varieties were secured by the local government from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna, by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).

The Palm tree varieties, Uy said, include Royal Palm, Red Palm, Bunga Palm, Lequala Palm, Seifrizii Palm, Madagascar Palm, Phoenix Palm, King Palm, MacArthur Palm, Velvet Palm, Bismarck Palm, and Queensland Palm.

The seedlings were later propagated in the city’s three nursery sights, Uy said, adding that some 10,000 seedlings were propagated at the Magdum Nursery, close to 8,000 seedlings at the Motorpool Nursery, and some 5,000 seedlings at the Energy Park.

Uy said the planting of Palm trees throughout the city – with an average distance of five meters apart – was coordinated by the local CENRO with village officials and Tagum-based personnel of national, city and provincial government offices.

The city executive explained that the local government preferred to plant Palm trees over other trees because of the former’s “aesthetic greenery” not to mention that their roots do not destruct infrastructures especially the roadsides and surrounding parks.