ANGELES CITY — Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. issued a marching order starting today, April 4, 2024 to plant seedlings in open spaces owned by the city government and public schools in the city.
This is part of the city’s mitigation plan to address the extreme heat index being experienced now.
At the time of writing, the Schools Division Office-Angeles City led by Engr. Edgard Domingo is conducting an inventory on the possible open spaces to be used for the massive tree planting.
“In a bid to address the soaring heat, which may greatly risk our kababayans, especially our children at schools, we have coordinated and issued a directive to use these vacant open spaces for a sustainable urban environment,” Mayor Lazatin said.
Among the seedlings to be planted are narra, molave, dau, poay, bamboo, Palawan cherry blossom, balibago, bitaug, tinik, dita, white lawan, kamagong, kiling, malaruat, toog, malalangka, malabulak, dungon, and ipil; and assorted fruit-bearing trees consisting of mulberry, guava, anunas, guyabano, jackfruit, atis, lipote, mandgoes, duhat, kamansi, santol, kasoy, avocado, macopa, chesa, American lemon, and rambutan.
This initiative, Lazatin furthered, will increase our green cover and promote a cooler environment, serving to safeguard the well-being of the public as well as a proactive approach to climate resilience.
Lazatin said that among those who will join the project are members of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office and Environmental Management System, which will be supervised by his trusted Chief Adviser and Tactician IC Calaguas and Executive Assistant IV Reina Manuel.
As the city-wide tree planting gets underway, Lazatin underscores this commitment, which is in need of a collective community effort to combat these environmental challenges.
“Magtulungan po tayo. Napakahalaga ng tulong na naibibigay sa atin ng mga puno. Let us do our best to have more of them,” Lazatin appealed, urging his kababayans to also plant trees, since the City Agriculture Office is giving seedlings for free.
Domingo, meanwhile, said that the SDO-AC is fully supporting this project of Mayor Lazatin.
Domingo also reiterated the importance and benefits of this project in the midst of rapidly changing weather and increasing extreme heat index, which affects the learners’ health and well-being.
“Dahil sa pabago-bagong at tumataas na heat index, malaking tulong at ginhawa ang maitutulong ng mga trees na itatanim,” Domingo shared.
To recall, it was during Mayor Lazatin’s administration that a massive reforestation effort was conducted at the Angeles City Watershed in Sapangbato where 79,715 trees had already been planted.
Mayor Lazatin, through his order, directed city hall employees to actively participate in the said reforestation regularly.
It was also during Mayor Lazatin’s stint that the roundabouts in major thoroughfares in the city were planted with vegetable seedlings.
