PTT Phl plants 50,000 mangrove trees

MANILA, Philippines - A multinational oil company hopes to replicate in the Philippines a corporate social responsibility project implemented in Thailand.

PTT Philippine Corp. (PTTPC), a local subsidiary of PTT Public company Limited of Thailand, initiated its own mangrove reforestation project in Noveleta, Cavite with 50,000 mangrove propagules planted last Friday.

The project has drawn hundreds of participants in the province of Cavite Friday, PTTPC said in a statement.

“We are trying to duplicate our mother company’s effort to lead the same kind of project, the mangrove planting, in our desire to help in the environmental campaign of the Philippine government especially after the disaster brought by super typhoon Yolanda last year,” PTTPC president and chief executive officer Wisarn Chawalitanon said.

The company’s project is in response to the Aquino administration’s call to put more focus on mangrove reforestation following the destruction left by Super Typhoon Yolanda, which struck in November last year.

“We are glad that PTT somehow has become part of that endeavour because the environmental issue for us is a concern of everyone,” Chawalitanon said.

Environmental officials said mangroves in some parts of Eastern Visayas helped mitigate the effects of Yolanda at the height of the storm surge.

PTT launched its “BakaJuan: Back to the Mangrove” project two months ago through the conduct of an information caravan in 12 schools in the town of Noveleta and Cavite City in Cavite.