East Visayas PNP plants 13,600 seedlings

Monday 6th of February 2012

CAMP RUPERTO K. KANGLEON, PALO, Leyte, Feb 6 (PIA) -- It will not take long for the surroundings to turn a soothing green as millions of trees will be planted nationwide as a mitigating step against the changing climate. Officers and personnel of the Philippine National Police in Eastern Visayas recently planted 13,600 tree seedlings as its contribution towards the preservation and protection of the environment in the region.

Police Senior Supt. Nilo Donayre, chief of the Regional Police Community Relations Division, said that this activity demonstrates one of the PNP’s core values which is “Makakalikasan.”

Donayre said that the activity which was conducted region-wide on February 4, Saturday, was the PNP Region 8’s initial contribution to the national government’s greening program through the “Pulis Makakalikasan: 10 milyong puno pamana sa kinabukasan.”

Donayre explained that the PNP project under the leadership of PNP Chief, Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome, calls for the PNP personnel to plant 10 million trees nationwide in one year.

Each PN member will plant at least six trees per month or a total of 72 trees per year starting February and onward.

Each regional and provincial PNP office was also instructed to put-up their own nurseries to propagate seedlings and saplings of both hardwood and fruit -bearing tree varieties.

Donayre added that this activity is being conducted in close coordination and teamwork with DENR together with its convergence partners, the Department of Agriculture and Department of Agrarian Reform as embodied in EO 26 dated Feb 24, 2011, which has been established for the mass production of trees.

A memorandum of agreement was forged between the PNP and DENR on January 30, 2012 to jumpstart the nationwide PNP-initiated greening project dubbed “Pulis Makakalikasan: Sampung Milyong Puno Pamana sa Kinabukasan.

This noble endeavor also supports the National Greening Program of government that envisions growing 1.5 billion trees in six years from 2011-2016. (PIA 8)