SUBLI. Convenors led by Bishop Pablo David, Perto Cruz, Marco Nepomuceno and Abong Tayag sign MOU on environmental campaign.
Photo by Ric Gonzales
ANGELES CITY – As a fitting celebration of Earth Day 2012, thousands are expected to join the “Walk for the Environment” on Sunday, April 22, here.
In effect a mass rally to raise greater consciousness about the continuing degradation of the environment and generate initiatives to combat it, the environmental walk will start from Nepo Quadrangle at the city center and will end at the main gate of the Clark Freeport Zone in Balibago.Alfonso Dobles Jr., president of the Alliance for the Development of Central Luzon (ADCL) which serves as convenor of the activity, said the walk is intended to “send a strong message” to “degraders of the environment.”
“We will deliver a declaration to the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) for them to immediately stop the cutting of trees on the mountain ranges of the Clark Freeport,” said Dobles.
The “pervasive tree-cutting” that has “eroded a portion of a mountain” in Clark is reportedly perpetrated by a Korean locator developing a golf course in the area.
“This should be stopped. The mandate of the BCDA is to develop the whole environs of Clark and Subic by promoting economic activities but not at the expense of the environment.
There should be a way to promote development in total harmony with nature. There is no need to cut more trees,” Dobles said.
He added that ADCL and its allied organizations are also urging the BCDA and the Clark Development Corp. to implement the development of a watershed in the Metro Clark mountain ranges that cover parts of Capas, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga.
The watershed is needed for the proposed bulkwater system that will sustain additional water supply to meet the growing demands of the expanding population of Clark and Pampanga.
“In the next five to 10 years, we will host five million people more in the region because of migration brought about by the job and livelihood opportunities here.
BCDA and CDC should seriously consider the development of a watershed and bulkwater system because we do not have enough ground water to meet the growing demand,” Dobles said.
And with the watershed naturally comes the total stoppage to the cutting of trees and the massive replanting, he added.
The Earth Day walk is a collaborative activity with the SUBLI Environmental Campaign, which aims to aims to promote and sustain environmental awareness, green development and healthy living in Pampanga and Angeles City.
SUBLI – for Subli ya ing Upaya, Bie at Lugud king Indung Gabun (Return the Power, Life and Love to Mother Earth) – was launched on Tuesday by a coalition of private organizations, companies and individuals unified with the love for Mother Earth.
With the Holy Rosary Parish-Sagip Sapang Balen, the Pampanga Arts Guild and ADCL as convenors, SUBLI counts as partners the Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement, Save the Trees Movement, Metro Angeles City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Greater Clark Visitors Bureau, United Architects of Pampanga, Musikerong Kapampangan, HAU Center for Kapampangan Studies, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Pampanga and media organizations Punto!, Angeles Observer, Sun-Star Pampanga, CL Businessweek, and Central Luzon Daily; Angeles Electric Corp., Taguete Realty Corp., Mother Earth Foods, Armando’s Pizza at Camalig; and the fraternities Tau Gamma Phi, Alpha Phi Omega, Phi Beta Rho, and Alpha Gamma Beta.
SUBLI has listed a number of “green” activities ranging from fora and concerts to tree-planting activities and river clean-up in celebration of Earth Day.
