Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Cordillera Administrative Region (MGB- CAR) personnel headed by Regional Director Fay W. Apil, together with the Itogon-Suyoc Resources, Inc. (ISRI) personnel headed by Mine and Environment Protection Office (MPEO) Manager Marcela C. Lumbaña, joined Local Government Units and private sector representatives in the celebration of Arbor Day 2023 and the 3rd Saleng Festival, an initiative of the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO).
With the theme: “Amplifying Voices for Environmental Advocacy”, the event began with a Tree Cart Parade along Session Road, joined by 45 participants from schools, local businesses and organizations, and culminated in a Tree Planting Activity around Burnham Park.
In his message during the program, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong expressed concern over the future of the city, acknowledging major ecological problems caused mainly by human negligence, especially along rivers and watersheds. He mentioned the heavily polluted Balili and Bued Rivers and the rising deforestation rate of several watersheds including Busol causing shortages in the city’s water supply. Although the city government has been working on strategic plans to address these problems, conducting demolitions of illegal settlements along rivers and watersheds, a lot still needs to be done. He then warned that studies have revealed that in the next 25 years, the damages done to the environment will be irreversible if not addressed today. “Which is why”, he added, “we take advantage of these occasions to showcase our responsibility to protect nature.”
Vice Mayor Faustino also encouraged the participation of the private sector to honor the importance of a healthy environment urging everyone, “We have to take positive action to keep the environment intact.”
MGB CAR likewise remains enthusiastic in supporting initiatives that promote the conservation of nature. Recognizing that trees are a very important natural solution to ecological problems, MGB CAR and ISRI personnel helped plant cypress tree and Benguet pine tree seedlings in Burnham Park to help accomplish CEPMO’s goal of planting 10,000 seedlings around the city in this year’s Arbor Day. The event is observed only once a year but MGB CAR will continue to take action to protect and preserve nature for the sake of future generations.
Arbor Day was first established in 1947 in the Philippines to promote healthier ecosystems across the country by planting trees and in the current context where the city faces a range of environmental crises, the occasion is more significant than ever. **
