From Saudi to Simara, Amantaw Greening spreads

I am agog.

I didn’t foresee that Amantaw Greening, the joint reforestation project of the Municipality of Concepcion, Sibale Academy Alumni Association, and Kusog Sibalenhon, which I have featured thrice in this column and in my blog, will spread like wildfire and gain adherents from as far as the United Arab Emirates to as near as, well, my backyard, where my dogs, Zorro and Mizuki, cavort during daytime.

I think Amantaw Greening has struck a raw nerve. It should, for it is life itself which is at stake.

To reforest a bald—well, not exactly—forest is a sacred cause, I told my colleagues and audience during the project’s launching in Sibale last March 1. It transcends politics and political differences. Planting a tree is an act of communion with nature and who can quarrel with that? It is a life-preserving act to plant a tree; to cut one, a murder in the third degree.

Amantaw Greening has taken off. As I cleared my desk at the office last week for my brief Sibale trip, Ish Fabicon of RDL-CLEAR called to say he appreciates the project and said very seriously they might adopt the scheme in Banton. Way to go!

The project has taken off. Also last week, I received two emails expressing favorable endorsement of Amantaw Greening.

I will, thus, feature the project for the nth time, against an inner warning that my readers might abandon me if it’s natural conservation and forest protection that they will all read in this corner.
Knowing that the reader is king, I apologize. But not for writing about Amantaw Greening in installments; but for not writing enough about it. Now, quarrel with me.

Amantaw Greening has taken off. It has now a supporter in Simara and his name is Ambring Fruelda, who regularly corresponds with this author. The project has also magnetized Merwin Mosquerra, a classmate who works in Saudi Arabia, and whom I have not thanked enough for his monumental help to disparate causes in Sibale. There will be a proper time for that, I am sure.

From Simara to Saudi, Amantaw Greening has arrived.

Let’s call on Merwin first. He says:

“As I understand, Mayor Boyet Cipriano has planned this project almost two years ago after he assumed office as local chief executive. He intended the area to be developed for eco-tourism.”

Mr. Mosquerra said that the mayor invited him to see to see Tinigban Falls in May 2007 and he found the place to be “exquisite, stunning and picturesque”.

“It deserves to be restored to its natural beauty and protected forever as everlasting abode of wildlife and plants”, he said.

Amen to that.

Merwin added that President Gloria Macapagal had directed all heads of departments and top government officials to participate in the project, “Green Philippine Highways”, envisioned to strengthen public concern towards environmental protection and to restore air quality within acceptable standards in the next five years.”

I scoff at this Gloria antic and do so most strongly.

Officials only? How about the people? And why should we believe Gloria when she has cronies all over engaged in illegal logging?

Actually, I would like to say that I don’t need a president of this Republic, or anyone for that matter, to tell me to plant a tree. It’s the heart and the conscience that should push us to action.

Amantaw Greening, if I were to understand Mayor Boyet and the SAAA, is a project borne out of the Sibalenhon’s desire and effort to hold on to what is dear—and valuable—to us, which are water and good air and green trees.

No, Gloria has nothing to do with Amantaw Greening, which has no room for political publicity.

“I wonder why we could not get seedlings from the responsible government agency, DENR, so that at least we could take advantage of the government’s environmental protection program. If only we started it last year, at least Mayor Boyet’s reforestation project should have been in place,” Merwin writes.

Another good point, but let me cut you off, Merwin, because you have made some other interesting suggestions which I will have to write about in the future.

Let’s give the floor to Ambring.

“As far as "greening project" is concerned, its importance needs no lengthy discussion; it is an obvious need of many places,” Mr. Fruelda begun.“For Simara, I read a news item about a "clean and green" project launched by Vice Governor Alice Fetalvero. I hope that tree—fruit and non-fruit bearing—planting is a major component of said project. Brooks, creeks and other available areas are waiting—have been waiting—for this badly needed efforts. “Do we need to wait for Arbor Day, anniversary, and other occasions to do so? “Sometimes, the irony is it takes decades or more for nature to nurture a tree to be of great value, but it only takes minutes for humans to cut it down!

“Aggravating the situation is when no rational replanting activity is being done, or existing laws are not being observed in this regard.

“How gratifying it is to know that all levels of the government, from the national down to the barangay, consider "greening" as a major agenda of public service; more gratifying is when the people themselves genuinely care,” Ambring finally wrote.

What can I say? These two supporters have eloquently outlined the case I have been trying to elucidate in three previous columns. I guess it is time to leave to other lovers of the environment the pitching for Amantaw Greening.

Next time, I will write about something else. Promise.