GINTONG PUNO (THE GOLDEN TREE)
ATOM:
In the mountains of the Philippines,
there is a plant that is said to be more precious
than gold.
It’s the Lapnisan tree,
which produces agarwood,
the so-called “wood of the gods.”
Its value can reach up to millions of pesos.
[CHAIN SAW WHIRRING]
In recent years, the tree that was once ignored,
became a target and was cut down
in the forest.
So now, the tree is nearing extinction.
[ENGINE REVVING]
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
ATOM:
We have traveled to the most remote regions of
the country
to investigate this illegal practice.
We have entered dense forests.
Ouch.
ATOM:
…and have talked to all the people involved.
From the hunters…
So, this one contains agarwood already, right?
JOEL: Yes, sir, it already has.
ATOM:
Traders who smuggle the product abroad…
-What they say millions of kilos, per kilo, P3
million,
it seems they’ve almost exhausted that.
ATOM:
And businessmen who promote an alternative,
agarwood farming.
-Many of us have died protecting it, sir.
[GUNFIRE]
-Now, you’ve decided to change your life?
-Yes, sir.
I’m correcting my past mistakes, so to speak.
-Duck! Duck! Duck!
-What you are doing is illegal.
ATOM:
Will greed prevail or will the golden tree bring
prosperity to many?
[HORN HONKS]
Let him go ahead.
ATOM:
Our story begins in a remote town in Mindanao.
After a few weeks of exchanging phone
messages,
a man involved in the agarwood trade agreed to
meet with me.
We are following our contact who is a local hunter
here.
With every kilometer we travel, the road narrows
and worsens.
[ENGINE REVVING]
Here, it seems we’ve finally reached our
destination.
We are going into the forest now because
according to him,
Lapnisan trees still grow on this mountain.
[JOEL SPEAKING LOCAL LANGUAGE]
This is as far as our van can go.
From here, I’ll need to take a habal-habal
ATOM:
We are going up to a small sitio in the mountains
where our hike will begin.
[ENGINE REVVING]
(ROOSTER CROWING)
JOEL:
We’ll be there in about 20 minutes, sir.
-Twenty minutes for you.
Can I do that in 20 minutes?
-[ATOM LAUGHS]
JOEL: I’m fitter…
ATOM:
They say it’s not easy to find Lapnisan saplings
in the forest anymore.
The remaining few have already been marked by
Joel’s group.
JOEL: We didn’t see them.
-I can barely see the ground.
Wow.
That’s terrible.
It’s so dense here. [CHUCKLES]
Whoo.
Oh.
With all the plants and trees here, you’ll be
amazed at how they can spot the saplings of the
Lapnisan.
Oh my.
So many insects.
[JOEL CHUCKLES]
Ouch.
MAN: There’s something approaching the lens.
-What are these insects, they seem drawn to the
sweat… the moisture.
They’re getting into the eyes, the nose, even the
mouth.
Where is the tree? This one?
JOEL: That one, sir.
ATOM: This one?
JOEL: That one.
-Wow.
It’s big, too.
ATOM: This is the Lapnisan.
Scientific name, Aquilaria malaccensis.
It looks quite ordinary but on rare occasions,
in the very heart of the tree, it produces agarwood
and that’s what people like Joel are looking for.
This big tree, how old do you think it is?
-It’s– I estimate,
it’s about 30 years old, sir.
-Eh, so what’s your plan for this tree?
-Maybe this year, sir, we’ll try to get a sample of
resin.
ATOM: Mm-hmm.
-Ah, we’ll try to sell it.
ATOM:
When the agarwood tree is wounded or infected,
it produces an aromatic resin
to heal and defend itself.
This is the agarwood.
MAN: Go to the other tree.
That’s okay.
ATOM: This rarely happens in a healthy tree.
So to stimulate its production,
Joel cuts the tree
and puts something called an “inoculant” in it
to start the infection in the tree.
Where did he put the inoculant?
JOEL: You can see, sir, there are…
– Oh, is that it?
JOEL: There.
– These look like wounds?
JOEL: There are bumps, sir. That’s a sign that the
inoculant has been injected.
– He’s been inoculated.
– Okay.
ATOM: Today, Joel will just take a sample from a
branch of the tree
to see if the inoculant they used has taken root.
But because agarwood is not only formed from
the bark but also from the inside of the tree,
the wood must be pierced and split to get it.
One day, will you cut down this tree?
JOEL: Ah… Not at the moment, sir.
Maybe when the time comes
when we have a lot of plants and new mother
trees have grown,
from which we can get seedlings,
we can cut it down, sir.
So, you will feel a mixture of emotions
when you see this tree
because essentially it’s marked for death.
One day, it will be cut down because it has value,
it contains agarwood.
But even though I feel sad for its impending fate,
it’s also hard for outsiders like me to tell you
what you can and can’t do here in their forest.
[MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE]
So this, this contains agarwood already?
JOEL: Yes, sir, it does.
-Can you see the inside?
-Ah, this, this.
JOEL: This, sir.
ATOM: Mm-hmm.
So this dark colored one here, is this it?
JOEL: On the edge, sir.
ATOM: Ah, no–
JOEL: There, on the edge.
-Not including the one in the middle?
JOEL: Yes.
ATOM: Just the very edge.
JOEL: That, just the very edge,
the one with the black.
ATOM: Mm-hmm.
JOEL: That.
We’re carving the middle.
ATOM: Mm-hmm.
-That’s rotten wood, sir.
-I see.
If this stays on the tree, the inoculant, will the area
get bigger?
JOEL: That dark part will get thicker, sir.
-That agarwood.
JOEL: Yes.
That resin will grow thicker.
[ROOSTER CROWS]
ATOM: When we got down to the site,
Joel started carving the agarwood he had found in
the forest.
JOEL: We need to trim and make it thin first
before we can carve it.
-All that white wood is useless.
JOEL: Yes, we’ll remove it.
-That’s the healthy wood.
JOEL: Yes. All that’s left is black.
Okay, it’s thin already.
So now you’re going to finish carving it so that it’s
just black.
-Mm-hmm.
You have to be really careful here…
JOEL: Yes, so that…
ATOM: So nothing will get wasted, right?
JOEL: Yes.
ATOM: Does it also affect how beautiful your
carving will be…
JOEL: Yes, sir.
Even if the wood quality is good, if the carving is
not good,
your product is deemed low-grade.
ATOM: Mm. Sales will be lower.
JOEL: … of our product.
ATOM: That’s it.
JOEL: Our samples, sir.
-So, these… have you collected them?
JOEL: Yes.
-Do they come from trees that were also
inoculated?
JOEL: Yes.
-But are these wild trees?
JOEL: Yes, sir. We just took samples, sir.
-Can these be sold already?
JOEL: Yes, sir, we can.
-Mm-hmm.
JOEL: If the quality of the wood is good,
its quality is super, sometimes worth P100,000 to
P120,000 per kilo.
[CHAIN SAW WHIRRING]
ATOM: It takes at least two years for the
agarwood to fully develop in the inoculated
Lapnisan saplings.
Because Joel and his group have been doing this
for a long time, some of their trees have already
been harvested by the group.
Joel knows that this business is illegal.
Cutting down or damaging trees in the mountains
are both strictly prohibited because of their
important role in the environment.
Forests are a source of fresh air and water
and also home to countless animals.
Anyone who violates the law will face from 6 to 12
years in prison and pay a fine of up to P1 million.
However, Joel believes that agarwood
can uplift the livelihoods of the poor in their
community who are mostly indigenous farmers.
What can you say to those who criticize what you
are doing?
-Our harvesting is not massive. This is the only
way I can help them by elevating their income.
Now, part of our advocacy with my group
is that we encourage them to plant more.
-Well, what if they tell you, why don’t you just wait
for the ones you planted
instead of taking the trees from the forest?
-That’s also necessary, sir, that we try it in the wild
so that we can also know that what we are
working on has value,
we need to have a sample for market.
ATOM: From the mountain, the collected
agarwood, is brought down to town.
This is where the local buyers like Dante come in.
-I only have one contact here because I don’t
want to get involved with a lot of middlemen.
[DANTE LAUGHS]
-Thank you.
JOEL: Sir.
DANTE: How are you?
(DANTE SPEAKING LOCAL LANGUAGE)
DANTE: Thank you.
JOEL: Sir.
DANTE: How are you?
JOEL: Sir.
ATOM: Dante buys the agarwood that is brought
down from the mountains.
DANTE: Oh.
-The wild parts in the middle.
DANTE: This?
-Compared to this, it’s close.
ATOM: They first check the quality of the product
before agreeing on the price.
[DANTE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE]
Dante also has contact with big buyers outside the
country.
DANTE: I scented it.
This one’s good.
ATOM: Foreigners buy almost all the agarwood
from the Philippines.
Aren’t you worried?For example, if you go to a
place like this.
-There’s no issue, sir, first of all,
the locals here are nice.
-Well, what about the police, the local authorities?
-Well, everybody here knows each other.
My contact here is also protected.
ATOM: In the past decade, interest in agarwood
has exploded in the Philippines.
The tree that was once largely ignored…
[MAN SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE]
…is now being cut down in the forest, one after
another, all for the promise of big profits.
Today, the Lapnisan is critically endangered.
Since there are only a few places in the country
with old trees left,
the hunt has become even more dangerous.
Other hunters, believed to be part of organized
groups, are entering the protected areas.
This footage, taken in in the Northwest Panay
Peninsula Natural Park,
shows agarwood poachers from out of town,
reportedly armed with long guns.
I met the buyer, Dante, again in Luzon.
He has already smuggled the agarwood from the
mountains of Mindanao.
So when you sell, is this how your transaction
usually goes?
DANTE: Usually, yes.
-Yes.
DANTE: This is called “scent testing.”
The client has to smell it too — because
sometimes people bring wood from the provinces
thinking it’s agarwood, but it’s not.
ATOM: Agarwood also called “oud,” is sought
after by foreign buyers because of its smell
especially when lit.
DANTE: …oud.
-[LIGHTER CLICKS]
So, he’ll light it.
So, this.
Okay, I’ll put it in…
so that more oil will come out.
You saw that, its oil is burning.
-You can’t just say it smells good.
Its scent is complex.
There is sweetness,
there is a sweet smell,
there is a woody smell,
there is an earthy smell.
ATOM: Dante says most of his clients are from the
Middle East or China,
where agarwood has a long cultural history.
DANTE: In just a few seconds of smelling the
smoke, they’ll say,
“I’ll get this. How many kilos?”
“Give me 2 kilos.
Give me 3 kilos.”
-Mm-hmm.
And they pay immediately.
DANTE: Immediately.
-Wow.
ATOM: But is it true that a kilo of agarwood costs
millions of pesos?
DANTE: The most expensive, those oils
that come from old trees like those 50 years old or
more.
But we can’t get anything from that, sir.
It seems that it’s all gone,
[CHUCKLES]
taken by the first wave of poachers in the
Philippines. Those were the ones worth ₱3 million
per kilo.
-Why is it all gone?
What happened?
DANTE: When they found out that agarwood was
so expensive and that other foreigners were
looking for it, they explored the entire Philippines
from Luzon to Mindanao.
ATOM: The Lapnisan tree produces agarwood
naturally only when injured by forest animals or
damaged by storms — and even then, it’s rare.
Which is why Dante said,
that in the past, the search for agarwood was just
a matter of luck.
-Just cut it down, because out of 100 trees, only
three percent of them have wood.
ATOM: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
-So, three to seven percent. So you cut down 100,
only three to five trees are useful.
The rest, nothing. So…
ATOM: What a waste.
DANTE: Yes.
Seriously, a chip…
ATOM: The agarwood that Dante sells now,
supposedly comes only from inoculated trees
priced at about P300,000 per kilo.
But it’s still illegal, because the trees are taken
from the forest.
DANTE: You still have to check the quality first.
ATOM: Dante regularly meets with foreign clients,
not just in the Philippines but also abroad.
[INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENT]
Don’t you have any problems with Customs?
-No problem, sir, sometimes, I just put it in my
luggage.
[LAUGHS]
It’s a local airports, no matter how many , it’s
nothing.
So, you just put it in your luggage, put it inside
your clothes, it’s not visible.
ATOM: The day will come when Dante’s harvest
will come only from cultivated Lapnisan.
But for now, he’s still selling illegally.
-Because no one has really planted any big ones
yet.
But I’m sure there’s a limit to this.
Why would I go to the mountains
if I had hundreds or thousands of trees on my
farm?
-Dapa, dapa, dapa.
-Just a moment, man.
-It’s just a racket.
-Dapa, dapa. Dapa, dapa.
-Dapa.
-Dapa.
ATOM: Although people like Dante seem to move
around freely, many have already been caught.
According to the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources
from 2016 to 2021, the value of agarwood seized
from illegal trade reached P132 million.
Some foreigners have also been arrested.
Worldwide, the global agarwood market is
estimated at $30 billion or about P1.7 trillion.
With prices this high, what about the communities
where agarwood comes from?
In Agusan del Sur, I met up with Chris, a former
buyer of illegal agarwood.
Sir Chris.
-How are you?
-Okay, sir.
-How are you, sir?
-Nice to meet you. Atom.
ATOM: He will take me to a community
where agarwood hunting used to be widespread.
Are there any more finds here, your Lapnisans?
-Yes, sir.
There are more here, sir.
ATOM: Are there any left?
-There are some left here but not like the big
ones.
ATOM: Who are we going to?
-The ones I used to be hunters.
They were the ones who first came here looking
for Lapnisan.
ATOM: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
You, you admit that you were cheating on them?
-Yes, Ido admit.
-Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
[ENGINE REVVING]
[ROOSTER CROWS]
Good morning.
Hello, sir. Nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you again, sir.
-Is this your house?
-Yes, come in, sir.
-It looks like it’s newly renovated, huh.
ATOM: Lando used to be Chris’ hunter.
Farming used to be his only source of income.
That’s why he was shocked by the huge amount
of money he could make selling agarwood.
How much was the biggest you earned?
-Our biggest earning, sir, was P330,000, then we
sold it to him.
-How did they pay you back then? As in cold
cash?
LANDO: Yes, sir.
-Have you ever seen that much money before?
LANDO: Not yet, sir. [CHUCKLES]
ATOM: [CHUCKLES]
LANDO: Not yet.
-Did you pay them?
-They were very surprised, sir, because the
money I paid them back then was so much.
They never thought they could earn that much.
-Yes.
There were many of them, so they divided it
among their groups.
ATOM: The money Lando earned,
went into repairing his old, dilapidated house.
Wasn’t your house like this before?
LANDO: No, sir.
It was too small, so when it rained, it leaked.
As for the agar…
[LANDO SPEAKING LOCAL LANGUAGE]
ATOM: Because of the growing needs of his
family, the money Lando earned from agarwood
didn’t last long.
You didn’t save any money?
LANDO: None, sir.
-None. It’s gone?
LANDO: It’s gone, sir.
-Mm-hmm.
Where did you spend it besides the house?
LANDO: On food, sir. On food, and my son’s
schooling.
-At that time, his story was, you paid them
P330,000.
Now, can you admit how much you actually
earned that?
-We earned a lot there, sir, because that
P330,000 was…
maybe about P2 million.
-Two million pesos?
-Yes, sir.
-Yes.
-That’s how high it sells. Because what happened
there was that I went directly outside, to Dubai.
-You, you admitted before, you were undercutting
them?
-I totally admit.
-Mm-mm.
ATOM: They say only a few wild agarwood
trees remain in the forest.
Our destination is still far — up in the mountains
where, according to locals, some Lapnisan trees
survive.
We’ll have to ride slowly, to get there.
-[ENGINE REVVING]
-[ATOM SIGHS]
I’m nervous, actually. [LAUGHS]
Okay, sir.
-Let’s go.
-Shall we go first?
-Yes.
[ENGINE REVVING]
-This, sir, is wider.
-All right.
Oh, my God.
[REVVING CONTINUES]
Wild!
Hey!
Okay? Let’s go.
[ATOM GRUNTS]
Oop ya!
Whoo!
Together, ha. One, two, three.
-Oh, my God. [LAUGHS]
-We’ve arrived.
-That was the wildest habal-habal experience
I’ve ever had in my entire life, it’s awesome.
You’re awesome, brother.
Thank you.
ATOM: We need to go through the forest.
Ah, it’s so lush.
MAN: We’re here, sir.
-Hey.
[CHRIS SPEAKING LOCAL LANGUAGE]
-Oh my god. [GRUNTS]
ATOM: But when we reached the top, we didn’t find
a tree — only a hole in the ground.
So, what is this place?
CHRIS: This is where they cut down the tree.
ATOM: Was there a tree here before?
CHRIS: Yes, they came back for the roots, because
that’s where the flesh is. But it seems another group
got here first.
-But it seems like somebody beat us to it, by
another group.
-So…
-So, it seems like they’ve dug it up already?
-Mm-hmm.
Maybe those same group have also returned
here.
ATOM: Lando is searching for wild agarwood —
the natural resin produced by the tree, not the
kind made through inoculation.
-They are digging it up.
-These are the things, the things they’re looking
for that are buried underground,
what we call “capsules”,
or those young ones, young ones.
ATOM: Chris, he brought a piece of agarwood
from a farm that he visited in Malaysia.
What is this, just your bag?
Just a sample?
-Yeah, sir, yes.
-Yes.
LANDO: Not here, sir.
-There’s nothing left?
ATOM: This pit is already empty.
We moved positions.
-This is what they’re looking for, sir.
-This?
-Yes.
But it’s not good quality.
-But is this Lapnisan?
-That’s part of the agar.
-Before, when you first came here, did you still
find big trees?
LANDO: Yes. Yes.
-Big ones.
We also cut down many of them that were also
empty.
-This is the small piece you got earlier?
-Yes, but we’re not sure.
This is the only one we got.
-Can you see it when you light it?
If it has oil?
-It should smoke if it has oil but nothing happened.
Not this.
Oh, it doesn’t burn oil.
-So, this is nothing?
-Yes.
ATOM: With the big Lapnisan trees in their area now
gone, Lando is back to farming.
LANDO: I’m really sad, sir. Because life is hard.
As a father, I can’t afford to give up.
ATOM: Even if it didn’t lift most residents out of
poverty, the discovery of agarwood still changed
this community.
This place remains poor — but signs of money
from the illegal trade are hard to miss.
Like their church: once small and wooden, now
rebuilt in concrete.
[PASTOR SINGING]
ATOM: The pastor admits the new church is a
product of the agarwood profits.
Can you say that agarwood has made you rich?
-Yes, sir, it is really something that the Lord is
using for, what can we do, we also have an
income here in our area, sir, that’s it.
What is this? Are these your plants?
ATOM: But the pastor’s days of agarwood hunting
are over.
Instead of exploring the forests,
he is now planting Lapnisan saplings.
-This, sir, my method is quite natural, sir.
Because we see it in the wild when we hunt,
when like this, sir, when there’s a hole,
your rainwater will naturally fall here, sir.
Over time, the ‘oud’ forms inside.
ATOM: So, you, what is this, you just cut it?
-Yes, that’s it, I cut it, sir, there.
-So, this just seems to be a different style.
PASTOR: Mm-hmm.
-You drilled a hole with something hot…
PASTOR: Yes. Steel, that’s it.
-…steel.
Yes. Then your ‘oud’ will start growing there too.
PASTOR: That, sir, oh.
If we look, sir, it’s starting to grow, oh.
-Ah, it’s turning black?
PASTOR: Yes, that’s it.
-Is that it?
PASTOR: That.
ATOM: In this community,
they say that many people already take care of
these trees in their yards.
-I’ve come to the realization that there will come a
time when there won’t be any agarwood left on
the mountain.
I’m just focusing on planting, that’s all.
ATOM: Chris helps locals like Pastor start, their
own agarwood farms.
He showed me how they reproduce the golden
plant.
-This one makes millions?
-Yes.
That one makes millions, sir.
ATOM: Chris took me to an agarwood nursery in
their area.
Do these seeds really need to be taken from the
tree itself?
-We really need to wait for them to fall, sir.
So, we choose the seeds that are really mature.
All we do here is just like that, like that.
-Ah, just put it in?
-Yes.
-No need to cut it apart?
-No need.
Yes. Just like that… Then after about five days,
it will start like that.
Just do it like that, like that. That’s it.
ATOM: Because the Lapnisan is a wild species,
collecting it from the forest without permission is
illegal.
This seedling has the appropriate permits
from the local government and DENR.
The good news is, it’s not difficult to propagate the
plant.
What is this?
-What, sir,
is this what you…we also select those ready for
planting and then we select if the quality is not
good.
-What are the signs that your seedling is okay?
-Our signs, sir, that your seedling is okay is this,
sir.
ATOM: Mm-hmm.
CHRIS: Something like that.
So, it’s big and then the leaves,
you can see what it is, your leaves are healthy.
So, these are the things we can see that are not
good.
You can see, what it is, eh…
ATOM: Just small.
CHRIS: Looks pale.
-How much does it sell for?
Seedlings sell for ₱350 to ₱1,000 each,
depending on size.
ATOM: Well, the profit in this business seems very
good.
-This is one of the good businesses in the nursery,
you can earn a million.
-This, does this earn a million?
-Yes.
-This earns a million, sir.
If you have, let’s just say, 10,000 seedlings,
when you sell them for P500, that’s around P5
million.
-Wow. That’s right.
-This, it’s around P50,000, eh.
-Wow.
ATOM: It seems that Chris has changed a lot from
his previous life.
He admitted that he used to earn a lot
from the illegal agarwood trade.
How much is it now?
-Once a day,
P1 million or a week, up to P5 million…
-Wow.
-…that’s what we stand to earn.
Because our Arab is just waiting at the hotel, eh.
ATOM: Chris was even more amazed when he
saw the price of wild agarwood in other countries.
-When I went to Dubai, when I went to other
places, when I saw my item, I was stunned.
Because the onbought fom me for P700,000,
turns out to be P50 million.
-On the one hand, you can also think of it as if
our wealth is being stolen from us.
-That’s right, sir.
ATOM: Because of the promise of wealth,
many were tempted to search for agarwood in the
mountains.
It became a matter of life and death.
-Many of us have died, sir.
In our group, some hunters died because they
were fighting.
[GUNSHOTS]
There were soldiers
who didn’t join the army and just stayed
and then they actually stayed
because the profit was big.
ATOM: One day, Chris’s luck finally ran out.
He said that his savings were wiped out
when he was caught in a fake transaction.
-Because what happened then, sir, they will call
you.
“We have an item here.”
“How many kilos is that?”
“Ten kilos.”
So, they will know if you have money because you
say,
“I’ll buy that.”
That means, those 10 kilos, that’s a million.
So, when you get to the hotel,
That’s the time they’ll make a move.
So, nothing will happen
because you’re scared, eh. You’re…
The other one before, even in uniform.
Another issue, he just introduced himself as a
police officer.
I don’t know if he’s a real police officer or not.
-It’s like a ‘hulidap,’ what?
-‘Hulidap’ or ‘catch-and-hold-up.’
CHRIS: It’s like that.
-So, it’s all gone?
-That’s all gone.
-How much did you give, what’s the estimate?
-Including my previous payment,
it must have reached around P10 million
-to P15 million.
-Million?
ATOM: That was when Chris decided to leave the
illegal business…
and now, he speaks in public to promote
agarwood farming in the Philippines.
-When I was caught,
“That was really karma.
I needed to wake up.”
I suddenly stopped buying.
-Don’t you regret the number of trees that were
cut down because of your hunters and your
influence?
-I regret it so much that’s why I got into farming,
so that I can get back to nature.
ATOM: Agarwood farming takes a long time.
You have to wait five to ten years for the sapling
to mature.
[MACHINE WHIRRING]
And only then can you add inoculants
to stimulate the production of agarwood.
[WHIRRING CONTINUES]
-This is our organic inoculant.
So, this inoculant is made from… all of it is food
waste.
It has a fungus that it will eat from the tree
so that it will have agarwood.
So, if you can see, this is the result of the
inoculation, right there.
So, this is what you can see the hole, right there.
So, I inoculated it here.
So, it will have an infection, it will develop like this.
ATOM: Once the tree is inoculated,
it will wait another two years
before the agarwood is formed.
People like Chris are ready to take the risk.
That’s it, because the industry is still new in the
Philippines,
the government’s policies regarding agarwood
farming and trading are not yet clear.
-There is no law yet that allows you to inoculate
and no law yet that allows you to harvest when it
comes to agarwood.
The only law given to the DENR
is that it authorizes you to plant.
ATOM: The Department of Science and
Technology, has also been researching about
Lapnisan for a long time.
One of their discoveries is that
its leaves are high in antioxidants…
So it’s good to make… tea.
Can you taste it?
FLORENA: Yes, taste it.
ATOM: All right.
This is a DOST product, really what?
-Yes.
-What does it taste like?
-Mm-hmm.
It’s refreshing.
It has a unique taste.
It’s like…
I know, I guess,
I can taste that tree.
-Ah, okay.
-Yes.
So what do you have here…
-This. Yes, seedling.
-Baby Aquilaria.
-Seedling of Aquilaria malaccensis.
ATOM: But when it comes to cultivating
and multiplying agarwood,
there are still many things that they don’t know.
-Many agarwood growers and farmers also
approach us,
saying, “You’re DOST, maybe you can help us
with technology.”
That is, unfortunately, we have nothing to show
in terms of inoculation because policy is still a bit
difficult.
We, as a government, also have to comply
with the regulatory functions imposed by other
agencies.
-Are you having a hard time researching
because your policy is confusing?
-It’s not confusing, it seems like nothing.
Starting with the inoculation process,
next comes harvesting,
next comes processing.
ATOM: What’s sad is, our agarwood industry has
been left behind by our neighbors in the region.
-They are like 25 years ahead of us.
-It’s a shame.
-It’s a shame.
Because it’s a great opportunity.
ATOM: The DENR believes that agarwood
farming will play a big role
in preventing poaching and deforestation.
-If we want sustainable agarwood production,
the solution is really farming.
ATOM: But they explained,
the rules are deliberately strict when it comes to
Lapnisan because it is in danger of being
depleted.
And it is also covered by international conventions
that regulate its cross-border trade.
However, they say that they are constantly
adjusting the policies,
also based on the calls of the industry.
-Well, just in case there are claims that are
difficult, we are willing to hear them, listen to them
and consider their suggestions on what they think,
how to make the process easier.
ATOM: Before I left Mindanao, I visited one more
place.
In the town of Rosario, Agusan del Sur, you can
find possibly the largest Lapnisan tree in the entire
Philippines.
I thought it would be deep in the forest—but it’s
right beside the highway, visible to anyone
passing by.
Its massive size makes it even more special,
especially now that trees like this are disappearing
from the wild.
Wow.
-The owner of this tree was, a politician, the
mayor.
So, the people here were afraid of cutting it down.
ATOM: So, it wasn’t touched?
When you see this tree, what goes through your
mind, especially your history of cutting down these
kinds of trees in the forest?
-I feel sorry, sir.
That’s why I forced myself to protect this tree.
ATOM: Nobody can claim the golden tree as his
own.
It is nature’s gift to all of us.
If we can protect it and resist greed, more people
will benefit from this rare and extraordinary tree.
I’m Atom Araullo, good afternoon.