By Alec Go
In celebration of his 65th birthday on Tuesday, Sept. 13, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the simultaneous bamboo and tree planting kickoff ceremony in Rizal to stress the role of environmental protection in meeting the country’s targets.
In his speech at the Old San Mateo Sanitary Landfill, Pres. Marcos said the activity will contribute to the National Greening Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), dubbed as the country’s “most ambitious reforestation program.”
“The seedlings that we will plant today will be significant in realizing this goal. This program will generate jobs, will generate opportunities, and will generate livelihood for our countrymen,” the President said.
“More than the economic benefit of this activity, we are essentially and primarily investing in ensuring that our planet remains a safe space,” he added.
The president also echoed his remark during his maiden State of the Nation Address (SONA), where he stressed environmental preservation is tantamount to life preservation.
“Itong ating ginagawa nitong araw na ito ay isa sa mga hakbang na maaari nating gawin upang tulungan at pagtibayin ang ating kalikasan – alagaan ang ating kalikasan – para tayo naman ay mayroon tayong [ipamamana] sa mga anak natin, sa mga susunod sa atin na mga Pilipino,” he said.
“We have to do this as a concrete step that we take so that nature is cared for, because it desperately needs that care and it desperately needs that attention,” he continued.
Pres. Marcos said 46,265 hectares are expected to be developed in 2022, along with 11,631 hectares of Enhanced National Greening Program sites aimed in 2023.
This is on top of the over two million hectares of reforestation sites that were established from 2011 to 2021, with the goal to reduce poverty, guarantee food security and environmental stability, conserve biodiversity, and mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Meanwhile, the chief executive thanked DENR, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and non-government organizations for their commitment to prioritize the planet, which would “greatly help in raising awareness on environmental welfare and protection.”
“I thus wish that as we appreciate the impact of this endeavor, we also see it for the symbolic gesture that it is. It is a reminder for us to see past our personal interests and have the future in sight,” he said. “It is a reminder for us to move beyond the obstacles that we face and act always with love and compassion for our fellow Filipinos.”
