The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here recently donated 500 wooden chairs to four public schools in Pampanga to support the government’s efforts in the improvement of educational facilities amid the preparation of the pilot implementation of limited face-to-face classes in Central Luzon.

 

Paquito Moreno Jr., executive director of the DENR in Region 3, noted that turned-over logs from government projects were converted into school chairs to benefit more than 1,000 students from Baliti Elementary School in Apalit, Bacolor Central Elementary School in Bacolor, San Miguel Elementary School in Guagua, and San Roque Dau Elementary School in Lubao.

 

“Apart from our intensified effort to combat illegal logging activities in the region, we remain true to our commitment to help public schools secure adequate chairs and facilities, Moreno said.

 

For her part, Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Melissa Sanchez of the Department of Education (DepEd) of Pampanga expressed her gratitude for the assistance the schools received from the DENR, noting that these donated chairs would be fundamental in their groundworks to hold face-to-face learning.

 

Aside from the endowment of chairs to public schools in Central Luzon, the DENR here has donated more than 10,000 board feet of confiscated lumber to local government units and other national government agencies to build temporary quarantine shelters and checkpoint facilities since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic started.

 

DENR records show that over 294,687 board feet of illegal lumber worth P16 million have been apprehended in the region since 2020. (-30-)

 

 

The more than eight-kilometer stretch Calumpit River in Bulacan will undergo massive cleanup beginning this month to reduce flooding incidences in low-lying areas and to fast track the rehabilitation of Manila Bay areas in Central Luzon.

 

During his recent visit in the province, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu stressed that the need to haul submerged garbage in the Calumpit River was crucial to prevent flooding due to clogged waterways.

 

"Massive cleanup operations that involve desilting and grubbing of waste materials will unclog our waterways and bring back the depth of our river system that will prevent the overflow of a great body of water especially during rainy season," he explained.

 

The Calumpit River is a tributary of the larger Pampanga River, and the town itself serves as a natural catch basin for floodwaters coming from Nueva Ecija and Pampanga.

 

The first phase of the cleanup project will transpire in the 1.5-kilometer stretch of the Calumpit River that covers barangays of Sapang Bayan, Gatbuca, Frances, and Poblacion.

 

Cimatu added that clearing the Calumpit river system would likewise benefit other flood-prone towns in Bulacan such as Hagonoy, Paombong and some parts of Malolos City.

 

Paquito Moreno, Jr., executive director of the Department of Environment and Natural (DENR) here, explained that the bathymetric study of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Region 3 showed that more than 300,000 cubic meters of garbage and silt was found in the Calumpit River, where a thick accumulation of admixed sediments was observed in the stretch along the Gatbuca Bridge.

 

"Garbage-free waterways will not only mitigate flooding during the onslaught of typhoons, but it will also reduce the pollution of river systems in Bulacan that directly drain to the Manila Bay," he said.

 

Aside from the close coordination with local government units, the DENR also partnered with GM Faustino Construction, Inc. to accelerate grubbing and hauling activities in the Calumpit-Angat River System.

 

The said construction company would provide free utilization of its equipment and workforce to facilitate grubbing and transfer of silt materials to containment areas.

 

Since the Manila Bay rehabilitation program started on 2019, the DENR has collected 168,562 tons of wastes from more than 22,580 estero, river and coastal cleanups conducted in Bulacan, Bataan, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija. (-30-)

 

The more than seven-kilometer Dilaing Bato- Calo Mambeja access road connecting the villages of R.A. Padilla and Bunga in Carranglan town in Nueva Ecija was recently turned over by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to ease the transport of farm produce from agroforestry plantations to the market, and enhance the government’s reforestation programs, environment authorities told.

 

Paquito Moreno, Jr., executive director of the DENR in Central Luzon, said the P58-million worth access road was funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as an “agroforestry support facility” in the 10-year Forestland Management Project (FMP) in the over 44,000-hectare Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed (PCW), which will also speed up economic recovery and ease the delivery of vaccines and other healthcare essentials to some 1,400 families.

 

“Our upland farmers will have an easier time transporting their products like cashews and other agroforest crops to the market. It will also boost local trade and productivity and help in the prevention of forest fires,” he explained, citing a projection study that the access road will boost the productivity of site development and other agroforestry activities in the area to over 389 million pesos in the next ten years.

 

He said the transportation cost and travel time of goods and services will be reduced significantly and can minimize the losses of local farmers while children and families will have better access to healthcare, education, and other government services.

 

“We can also better protect our reforestation site since the access road can help us respond immediately during any forest or grass fire incident including tracking of timber poachers,” he added.

 

Marcial Amaro, Jr., assistant secretary for policy planning and foreign assisted and special project and concurrent director of Forest Management Bureau (FMB) expressed his sincere appreciation for the support of JICA in bringing support facility projects that will help in the forest and watershed rehabilitation and at the same time improve the socio-economic conditions of upland communities.

 

“This access road will provide to at least 4,000 site development subprojects and we have seen how extensively the FMP has changed the town of Carranglan,” he said.

 

The Dilaing Bato- Calo Mambeja access road is the fifth agroforestry support facility implemented by JICA for the last two years in the PCW after the 60-meter long bridge in Sitio Pamalayan in Conversion town in Pantabangan town; the eight-kilometer long Calaocan Irrigation Pipeline System and the 55-meter long Calaocan hanging bridge in Burgos village, and the 80-meter long Barat reinforced concrete bridge in Sitio Kanlungan, all in Carranglan town.

 

FMP is a 10-year reforestation project launched in 2012 with the goal of rehabilitating PCW and strengthening forestland management through the implementation of collaborative community-based forest management (CBFM) strategy.

 

It integrates conservation and development-oriented activities with participation and capacity-building of local communities to rehabilitate degraded forestlands in three critical river basins, including Upper Magat and Cagayan in Region 2, Upper Pampanga in Region 3, and Jalaur in Iloilo. (-30-)

 

 

A concerned citizen of Lubao town this province recently turned over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) provincial office here an endangered Olive ridley sea turtle scientific Lepidochelys olivacea.

 

Local fisher Nimrod Castro of Barangay San Jose found the turtle caught in his nylon fishing net while sailing along the tributary of Pampanga River, between the boundary of Hermosa in Bataan, and Lubao town and immediately took it for temporary custody.

 

Laudemir Salac, chief of the DENR Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) in Pampanga, reported that the rescued sea turtle had a carapace length of 72 cm and width of 67cm with no tagging.

 

“Since the turtle was in good health condition, we immediately released it back to its habitat at the Bangkung Malapad in Sasmuan town,” Salac said.

 

Sasmuan Bangkung Malapad has been earlier declared by environment secretary Roy Cimatu as critical habitat and ecotourism area.

 

DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2019-09 or the Updated National List of Threatened Philippine Fauna and their Categories classified Olive ridley as "endangered" species and prohibits any person, group, or entity to collect and or trade threatened wild fauna.

 

Paquito Moreno, executive director of the DENR in Central Luzon, appealed to the public to immediately report to environment authorities any wildlife sighting and encounter to avert potential danger and threat to their population.

 

“We see this visit of marine turtle in the coastal waters of Pampanga as a good sign that our efforts in cleaning and rehabilitating Manila Bay are making a positive result," he explained.

 

The 24-km coastline of Pampanga is part of the 190-km long Manila Bay coastline.

 

Moreno encouraged the public to be vigilant in monitoring and reporting any illegal trading and online selling of wildlife to penalize perpetrators who pose destruction to biodiversity and the environment.

 

DENR records show that the massive public information and education campaign of the DENR has resulted in the rescue of more than 6,000 wildlife species from illegal traders while criminal charges were filed against 24 individuals. Illegal wildlife trade and other environmental violations may be reported through this hotline number: 0945-368-5303. (-30-)

 

 

One hundred twelve employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) here were commended for their exemplary performance and significant contribution to the efficient and successful delivery of environmental programs to the public.

 

Paquito Moreno, Jr., executive director of DENR regional office, praised the dedication and commitment of the awardees to serve the people as model servant-heroes who embodied values of responsibility, good governance and nationalism.

 

“We enter public service knowing deeply that public trust that must not be broken. We salute you and honor your hard work, knowing that you do not do your job in exchange of any reward, but you do it because you have a servant’s heart,” Moreno said, adding that these employee models could inspire other personnel to do their best to provide fast and efficient service to the people.

 

For his part, Civil Service Commission (CSC) Region 3 Director Fernando Mendoza lauded the DENR for recognizing its model employees, noting that ceremonies like this were fundamental in boosting the morale and productivity of its human resources.

 

92 employees who tendered 15 to 45 years of service to the Department received certificate of recognition, excellence recognition pin and cash, while special awards were given to 20 employees who obtained professional certification and finished their post-graduate studies.

 

A simultaneous awarding program was done along with the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Offices (PENRO) and Community Environment and Natural Resources Offices (CENRO) via Zoom video conferencing.

 

The annual awarding ceremony is part of the Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE) that is designed to encourage creativity, innovativeness, efficiency, integrity, and productivity in the public service by recognizing and rewarding officials and employees. (-30-)