TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) - - Cagayanos no longer need to go to Japan to have a sakura experience.

In the municipality of Alcala, native Salinggogon trees, the country’s version of the iconic cherry blossom of Japan, that line the national highway are now in bloom.

Alcala Mayor Cristina Antonio said 36 trees are now blooming with pink flowers, and the famous Sakura-like tree instantly attracted passersby.

“First in bloom, pay lang ti 36 a poon apo, padaanan tayo kadagiti sumarsaruno a tawen ti panagsabong ti ribo-ribo a salinggogon,” said Antonio.

 (At present, there are 36 trees in bloom. Expect that thousands of Salinggogon will bloom in the coming years.)

The tree scientifically known as Cratoxylum formosum can grow up to 65 feet tall, with some known species reaching over 140 feet.

“Starting four years ago, through the LGU's Green Wall of Alcala, we have planted 1,640 Salinggogon trees along the national highway from Baybayog, Baculod, Centro Norte, Centro Sur, Maraburab, Tupang, and Piggatan,” Antonio said.

The “Green Wall of Alcala” is a program of the local government unit that consists of planting native Philippine trees on riverbanks, farms, watersheds, roadsides, and schools. 

The project aims to shield the 42,092 inhabitants of Alcala from the effects of flooding and all the destruction that comes with it. It was born out after the municipality experienced a mega-flooding in November 2020 due to typhoon Ulysses (Vamco), where 15-meter-high floodwaters ravaged the area and 24 of the 25 barangays were flooded.

“Let's keep planting and nurturing our Philippine native trees. The Salinggogon along the national highway is only one of the over 100 sites of the Green Wall of Alcala, where we have planted 35,000 Philippine forests and flowering and fruiting trees. Let's continue to build the Green Wall of Alcala—the planting and growing of our proudly Philippine native trees,” the mayor added. (OTB/MDCT/PIA Cagayan)