CEBU CITY, June 17 (PIA) --- The government’s massive forest rehabilitation program has not only helped grow more trees in the country but also alleviated poverty among members of the people’s organizations (POs) in upland communities.
In a recent Kapihan sa PIA held to mark June as Environment Month, Eduardo Inting of the Forest Management Services of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) said that the National Greening Program (NGP) has helped parents in POs send their children to school.
“When we monitor the project, some of them told us that they’ve sent their children to college because of it (NGP),” cited Inting.
Through planting trees, members of people’s organizations can earn monthly at around P150 to P200 per day.
DENR has assigned POs to safeguard tree plantation sites under the NGP.
Inting also said there are already 126,000 jobs organized for members of POs in the entire region.
Their income will depend on the kind of work they do, he said.
Claimants must be a member of a registered PO and should participate in the program such as monitoring the planting of trees.
NGP was first rolled out in February 2011 under Executive Order No. 26 of Pres. Benigno C. Aquino III with the aim of 1.5 million hectares of tree plantation nationwide for six years. (rmn/Visame Arellano, PIT intern/PIA-Cebu)