BY: FAYETTE C. RIÑEN
CEBU CITY, June 16 (PIA) – A site visit to Oslob town in southern Cebu was recently conducted to showcase its laudable implementation of the government’s National Greening Program (NGP) as part of the activities of June as Environment Month.
Officials and employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) and the Community Environment and the Natural Resources Office (CENRO) - Argao, municipal employees, students and media visited Oslob, cited as one of the NGP sites with “best practices.”
Oslob Mayor Atty. Ronald Guaren said he has rallied to every barangay to support the DENR’s NGP and how important it is to plant more trees. Oslob is subdivided into 21 barangays.
“We should learn to give importance to our environment by protecting it. If there are changes, there are also results,” said Guaren.
People’s organization (PO) head in Oslob, Timoteo Miras said he is happy President Aquino places a high significance to environmental protection and preservation.
“There is a need to protect nature and that the bald forests are probably caused by “kaingin” and “illegal logging which must be put to a stop,” said Miras adding that those behind such activities must seek another source of livelihood.
There are eight people currently being hired by the municipal government at P5,000 each per month to secure and protect the trees in the town.
In Oslob, anyone caught intentionally setting fire to wild land areas will face arson with a penalty of imprisonment plus fine.
One Epifanio Angana, around 60 years old was caught five times burning the trees while investigation of the case is still ongoing.
DENR-7 CENRO-Argao Administrative Officer Samuel Montejo praised the PO of Oslob for its efforts to continue protecting the town and community through the environment.
Montejo said one act of illegally cutting a tree is equivalent to 100 seedlings that must be planted in return not only as a mark of punishment and to further rehabilitate the environment.
DENR-Regional Technical Director for Forest Management Services Eduardo Inting said ”participating in tree planting and site visit activities could make people be more aware and be exposed to the government’s National Greening Program.”
The DENR-7 from June 9 to 13 held various NGP site visits in Cebu.
President Bengino S. Aquino II in February 2011 issued Executive Order No. 26 for a massive rehabilitation program designed to pursue sustainable development for poverty reduction, food security, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The NGP targets the planting of 1.5 billion trees within six years or from 2011 to 2016 covering at least 1.5 million hectares nationwide in lands of public domain. (mbcn/FCR/PIA7 with reports from Mary Jane G. Conciliado, PIT-Intern)