PPC photos
ANGELES CITY – The Pampanga Press Club Foundation Inc. has adopted one
hectare of the Angeles City watershed in Sitio Target, Barangay Sapangbato for
reforestation.
The undertaking was formalized in a memorandum of agreement with the Abacan
River and Angeles Watershed Advocacy Council Inc. (ARAW-ACI) and the
Kapatirang Aetas ng Angeles-Porac para sa Kalikasan at Agrikultura (KAAPKA).
In a ceremony held Friday, PPC president Noel Tulabut signed the MOA with
ARAW-ACI president Renato “Abong” Tayag Jr. and KAAPKA head Fred Pan for a
three-year reforestation project. It seeks to help ensure the sustainable water
supply for Angeles City and the Metro Clark area.
Witnessing the MOA signing was Minerva Martinez, chief of the Conservation and
Development Division of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
regional office, representing regional executive director Paquito Moreno Jr.
During his welcome remarks, Tayag thanked PPC, saying ARAW-ACI is looking
forward to future environmental endeavors with the press club.
Martinez admired PPC for its advocacy to preserve the environment.
“This partnership that we establish today will literally and metaphorically bear
fruits. The trees you plant today will join the over 128,000 hectares of forest
plantations established by the DENR and its partners through the Enhanced
National Greening Program since 2011, as well as the thousands planted all over
the country through the initiatives of other private individuals and organizations,”
Martinez, reading the message of Moreno, said.
“Thank you for being with us in the mission of ensuring that the activity here
today does not limit itself to a ‘tree planting’ but rather commits to fully
becoming a ‘tree growing’ effort,” she said.
Tulabut, meanwhile, also thanked the group’s partners for heeding the call to
protect, rehabilitate and reforest the watershed to conserve the city’s water
supply and support flood control in the area.
After the signing, officers of the PPC, ARAW-ACI, KAAPKA and DENR planted narra
seedlings and bamboo propagules – marking the start of the partnership – in the
designated one-hectare area.
This event is part of the Adopt-a-Watershed Reforestation Program of ARAW-ACI,
which is supported by the local government of Angeles City to rehabilitate the
560-hectare Angeles Watershed.
The program aims to ensure the reliable supply of clean water in the city and the
whole of Pampanga province while providing livelihood to the Aeta community
which serves as stewards of the trees planted in the watershed.
Under the partnership, PPC as project sponsor, will be supplying the seedlings,
ensuring a sustainable water supply and fertilizer; and funding the overall costs of
caretaking and protection for the three-year period.
KAAPKA, as the stewards, will look after the day-to-day upkeep of the 1-hectare
land while ARAW- ACI will oversee implementation of the project. It will also
coordinate with the local government of Angeles City and the land owner – the
Bases Conversion Development Authority.
Pan, for his part, thanked the groups for this initiative, which will not only
generate jobs for the locals, but will also serve as their source of food. PPC
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