DavSur to launch ‘Run to Plant’ for Green Philippines, Feb. 20

A Private-Public-Partnership involving local government units, private sector, academe and civil society in Davao del Sur set to launch the Run to Plan for Green in Philippines on February 20, 2012.
In fulfillment of the National Greening Program (NGP), the provincial government, the Holy Cross of Bansalan College, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) and the Lao Integrated Farms, Inc. agreed last January 23 to carry out together the run for the environment activity.
A memorandum of agreement will be signed during the launching activity that will involve the signatures of Governor Douglas Cagas representing Davao del Sur and Holy Cross of Bansalan president RVM Sr. Maria Fe Gerodias.
Also among the MOA signatories will be RAFI chief operating officer Dominica Chua to represent the civil society and LIFI owner and chief executive office Benjamin Lao, who will stand for the private sector.
Prior to the launching, an orientation activity to tackle the NGP as well as the rationale and details of the run is scheduled on February 8 at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Session Hall in Barangay Matti, Digos City.
Davao del Sur provincial information officer Nilda Aninon said the orientation will be participated in by the 14 municipal mayors the Digos City mayor, and the provincial officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
Aninon said the Run to Plant for Green in Philippines is an initiative of RAFI that aims to help the local government in its sustainable reforestation program as mandated under Executive Order No. 26 or the NGP in a bid to fight against climate change.
The Green in Philippines initiative stands for Generation, Redemption and Expansion of Natural Resources.
President Benigno Aquino signed the EO 26 on February 24, 2011 that aims to plant 1.5 billion trees covering about 1.5 million hectares nationwide for a period of six years from 2011 to 2016.
Aninon said Gov. Cagas issued on November 23 last year the provincial Executive Order No. 37 for the implementation of the NGP in the province.
In April 2011, the convergence initiative of DENR, Department of Agriculture and Department of Agrarian Reform in Davao del Sur also started implementing the NGP by identifying an aggregate of a 200-hectare area for the convergence.
About 500 hills of trees are planned to be planted per hectare, which would bring about 100,000 planted trees as required per province under the NGP.
The DENR-DA-DAR convergence has also begun employing its social mobilization program that involves students, religious sector, academe and the civil society groups. [PIA/Carina L. Cayon]