San Fernando intensifies greening Efforts

CEBU, Philippines - Around 830 people from the different sectors in the Municipality of San Fernando planted 4,150 native tree seedlings during the Run 2 Plant 4 GREENIN Philippines 2012 last June 30.

The event started with a short program and a warm-up exercise in Lantawan Integrated School. Participants wearing green shirts, started running to the planting site at 7 a.m.

The participants include municipal officials and employees, barangay officials, school administrators and teachers, Taiheiyo Cement Phils., Solid Earth Development Corp, Cebu Grand Industries Corporation, Mabuhay Filcement, Flying V Gas Station, True Coolers Water Refilling Station, Kyle Gas Station, Fil-Aqua SF Purified Drinking Water, Jiefhord Construction Supply, and people’s organizations.

“Our municipality will help in restoring our ecosystem by planting more trees. This is why we joined the Run 2 Plant 4 GREENIN Philippines. We already assigned people from the Municipal Agriculture Office to cultivate and monitor the trees planted to have a higher survival rate,” San Fernando Vice Mayor Miguel Antonio Canoy said.

The running and planting event was simultaneously held province-wide in Cebu. This year, Davao del Sur, Davao City, and Compostela Valley also organized their own Run 2 Plant 4 GREENIN Philippines, making these areas the first local government units outside Cebu to replicate the event.

Run 2 Plant 4 GREENIN Philippines 2012 was organized in collaboration with the Cebu Provincial Government, Aboitiz Equity Venture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Interior and Local Government, Talisay City local government unit and other LGUs in Cebu, and various government and private institutions.

Run 2 Plant 4 GREENIN Philippines, one of the components of the GREENIN Philippines program, is a fun run and planting activity that provides a venue for every Filipino to contribute in rehabilitating and protecting our environment with the goal of bringing back the country’s forest cover.

GREENIN Philippines Program, which stands for Generation REdemption and Expansion of Natural resources INitiatives in the Philippines Program, is one of the programs under RAFI’s Integrated Development focus area. It aims to address environmental problems by undertaking initiatives for the protection, conservation, and rehabilitation of our country’s forests.

RAFI’s other focus areas are Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Culture & Heritage, Leadership & Citizenship, and Education.

For more information about the GREENIN Philippines Program, please contact 418-7234 loc. 515 and look for Myryl Mendoza, or visit www.rafi.org.ph or www.facebook.com/rafi.org.ph and www.rafi.org.ph/greenin-philippines.  (FREEMAN)