A public-private partnership for the environment

MANILA, Philippines - It’s a beautiful show of public-private partnership after the city government of Alaminos in Pangasinan and the Metro Pacific Investment Corporation (MPIC) partnered to educate the people about environmental preservation of the world-famous Hundred Islands here.

About 105 volunteers composed of divers and non-divers led by Melody del Rosario, vice president for Media Corporate Communications of MPIC and trustee of Metro Pacific Investment Foundation, Inc. (MPIF), trooped to Pangasinan’s prime tourist destination recently for the two-day Shore It Up 2011, the company’s environmental campaign that is now on its third year.

All the participants from the metropolis are from companies connected to or affiliated with MPIC. They were joined by about 150 volunteers from Alaminos. Shore It Up is an annual project of the MPIF, the corporate social responsibility arm of MPIC chaired by Manny Pangilinan in support of environmental preservation and conservation.

Volunteer divers at the Hundred Islands National Park help relocate giant clams. Photos by cesar ramirez

The trip from Manila took seven hours, including stopovers and getting lost due to some re-routing caused by road construction in some areas outside Alaminos. But the volunteers from Meralco, Maynilad, TV 5, Metro Pacific Tollways, its hospital group represented by Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center and Riverside Medical Center, and tourism students from San Sebastian College spent a busy but fulfilling day working on projects to protect marine biodiversity on top of cleaning the shore and the underwater areas around the famed Hundred Islands.

About 100 school children from Alaminos received new school bags with some school supplies and snacks from the MPIC, plus certificates as an expression of gratitude for their participation in cleaning the environment.

Members of the Alaminos City police join the clean-up drive along Bolo Beach.

Maricel Rendon and Angelika Dondo, both aged 12 and grade six pupils of Bued Elementary School, were so happy about having been chosen as participants in the clean-up, and they considered receiving the school bags as an early Christmas gift. MPIC wanted the kids to get involved at a tender age in environmental protection as they themselves would be beneficiaries of these environmental activities.

MPIC is a member of the Clean Up The World campaign, an Australian organization that organizes global cleanup projects involving around three million volunteers worldwide. Alaminos Mayor Hernani Braganza lauded Pangilinan for choosing his city for the Shore It Up, saying this would greatly boost their environmental programs.

IT’S A SHORE THING: Volunteer divers with Alaminos Mayor Hernani Braganza at the Hundred Islands National Park

Braganza underscored the importance of private sector help in the rehabilitation of coastal resources, not only in Alaminos but throughout the country. He also lauded MPIC for helping educate the people, especially the youth, on the value of preserving the environment. He said that a young city like Alaminos could not preserve the beauty of the Hundred Islands National Park on its own, thus private sector help, like MPIC’s commitment, means a lot to them.

Their partnership with MPIC has also drawn a lot of publicity, which benefits their efforts. “What is important is the fact that there are companies like MPIC and there are cities wanting to change what is happening in their areas for the betterment of Philippine society,” the mayor said. “So in that sense, the public-private sector partnership will ensure and assure a sustainable future for everybody,” he added.

More volunteers join the clean-up drive along Bolo Beach.

Wearing their Shore It Up t-shirts with the imprint “Rescue. Restore. Revive. Shore It Up! 2011 For the giant clams and mangrove forests of Hundred Islands,” the group headed toward Barangay Bued, where a 10-hectare mangrove forest is emerging along the coastline of Bued River overlooking the world-famous Hundred Islands National Park. Each volunteer was given a mangrove propagule to be planted in a designated area. Arcelia Talania, city agriculturist, said the city has 10 coastal barangays with mangrove plantations. Each plantation is specially taken care of by a designated person from the city government to ensure its survival.

Other groups, individuals or schools also adopt these mangroves. Braganza said mangroves maintain ecological balance because mangrove patches are breeding grounds of fish and shellfish and also prevent soil erosion. Mangrove forests likewise protect the sea from pollution and act as a defense of coastal communities against storm surges. The group also proceeded to Barangay Pandan for shoreline clean up. Ready with their gloves and plastic bags where they would keep the trash collected, the group was pleasantly surprised to see only sea grasses but no garbage carried in by the waves. Residents said they have made it a habit to keep their coastal area clean.

Mangrove seedlings are planted in Barangay Bued.

The second day of the Shore It Up was devoted to moving giant clams at the Hundred Islands. The clams must be situated at a proper distance from one another to optimize their growth. The moving was done with the assistance of representatives from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UPMSI).

Former President Fidel Ramos initiated the giant clam seeding at the Hundred Islands in the mid 90s. His nephew, Mayor Braganza, has taken huge strides in realizing his vision of making the park the Giant Clam Garden of Asia. The Giant Clam and Coral Garden near Quezon Island is one of the main tourist attractions at the national park.

Thousands of giant clams at the Hundred Islands are currently being protected by the city government’s Bantay Dagat and the local police. At the end of the two-day activity for the environment, Braganza hoped the effort would just be the start of a long partnership with MPIF. After all, as the Shore It Up’s battle cry says: Each one of us, great or small, shares the same home. And there is a need to make this home a perfect place to live in.

Melody del Rosario of the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation distributes school kits to children of Barangay Pandan.