Valenzuela couples required to plant trees before marriage

MANILA, Philippines — Couples in Valenzuela City are now required to plant trees or donate seedlings and saplings before they are allowed to get a marriage license.

According to City Ordinance 1084, enacted on March 6 and signed by Mayor Wes Gatchalian on March 15, couples will have to join the city government’s “Plant a Love” program before undergoing pre-marriage orientation and counseling with the city population management office and the city social welfare and development office, which will issue a certificate.

Couples need the certificate to get their marriage license.

Under the “Plant a Love” program, couples are required to donate at least one seedling of the following ornamental plants or bring it for planting: aglomenia, begonia, bird of paradise, bromeliads, dendrobium, fish tail palm, fortune plant, Manila palm, mayana, miagos, orchids, papua, periwinkle, picarra, poinsettia, raphis, red button ginger, sansibiera, sundrop, ti plant and zigzag plant.

Shrubs like bougainvillea, Christmas berry, dwarf caballero, dwarf pandakaki, eugenia, golden duranta, gumamela, igem-dagat, kamuning, Mickey Mouse plant, San Francisco, santan, tsaang gubat and yellowbell can also be planted by couples.

Also included are saplings of trees like acacia, African tulip, alibangbang, alaucaria, balete, balitbitan, banaba, butterfly tree, catmon, champaca, dita, fire tree, golden shower, ilang-ilang, molave, narra, tebabuyah and temple flower.

Fruit-bearing trees like avocado, bignay, chico, duhat, guyabano, macopa, mango, Manila tamarind, rambutan, rimas and santol may also be brought by couples for the tree planting program.a

Couples with seedlings should have their names and plants registered, and could choose whether to attend the tree planting activity or just donate, the ordinance stated.