THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines Office of the Student Regent on Wednesday opposed the lifting of the protected area status of the Arboretum.

“We gravely oppose the result of the referendum of the UP Board of Regents reclassifying portions of UP Arboretum for the construction of the PGH-Diliman project,” it said.

It added that the university should first address the environmental concerns and relocation of the residents living in the area.

“The Sectoral Regents voted against this proposal due to unanswered and unresolved environmental concerns and relocation plans for the residents of the UP Arboretum,” it said.

The UP Board of Regents on Wednesday agreed to allocate a portion of its Arboretum for the construction of the UP-Philippine General Hospital Project.

Since 2012, the UP Arboretum has been classified as a protected forest area.

In a Senate hearing last month, UP President Danilo Concepcion said they plan to construct a 700-bed extension of the PGH in the Diliman campus.

The UP-PGH in Diliman will house the College of Medicine and Cancer Research Center.