DENR chief pushes Panay as PH Bamboo Capital

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu strengthens the implementation of the Enhanced National Greening Program (E-NGP) by identifying 13,050 hectares in Panay Island to be planted with bamboos.

Cimatu said he aims to make Panay the country’s Bamboo Capital and this was one of his marching orders during his traditional New Year’s Call held at the Department Environment Natural Resources (DENR) Central Office in Quezon City.

Bamboos help mitigate the effects of climate change as it can absorb 12 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per hectare each year, improving the quality of air in the country and help cool the temperature. It also has an extensive root system maintaining soil stability that intercepts rain preventing soil erosion and flash floods that may occur during heavy rain and typhoons.

During the New Year’s Call, Secretary Cimatu stressed the need to strictly enforce forest protection thereby increasing forest cover without losing the lives of our rangers. Illegal loggers should be punished according to the law thus, it should also be enforced, he pointed out.

Other programs were also given focus by Cimatu, especially the region’s patents issuance that has now more than 4,000 hectares target on agricultural and residential patents.

Meanwhile, the government, through the efforts of the DENR along with other national government agencies, will sustain the rehabilitation of Boracay and Manila Bay.

Cimatu ordered official and employees of the Department to conduct daily clean-up in the Manila Baywalk area and Baseco beach during the ongoing rehabilitation of Manila Bay.

“With all these plans, Secretary Cimatu is calling on each one of us to be proactive and seriously take by heart the Department’s mandate to responsibly take care of our environment and natural resources,” DENR-6 Regional Executive Director Francisco E. Milla Jr said. (DENR-6)