Where are the 1.7-B trees?

Recto asks amid greening program budget increase

INQUIRER| November 14, 2019

Amid the nearly 100 percent proposed budget increase for the National Greening Program (NGP) for
2020, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto has one question: Where are the 1.7 billion trees?

Recto posed this question amid the proposed budget increase for NGP, a program under the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), from P2.6 billion to P5.15 billion.

“Budgets for health, the PGH, college scholarships are like trees being cut by chainsaws. But the one for
NGP has assumed the status of a protected species,” Recto said.

The senator said that based on NGP’s P38.9 billion total budget from 2011 to 2019, a total of 1.807
billion trees in 2.141 million hectares of land should have been planted until December 2019.

From this, 1.669 billion trees should have been planted in 1.998 million hectares of land from 2011 to
2018, the senator said.

“The 1.998 million, or 2 million hectares of land reforested represents 1 in 15 hectares of the total land
area of the country. 2 million hectares is 32 times Metro Manila’s land area. 2 million hectares is also 4
times the size of Cebu island,” Recto said.

“After counting the number of trees planted, it is time for the DENR to show us the forest. The carpet of
green from sea to shining sea. Ilabas na ang NGP map (Show the NGP map). The proof of the planting is
in the photos. Ipakita sa aerial maps, before and after photos, ang resulta ng isang P38.9 billion project
(Show the aerial maps, before and after photos, the result of a P38.0 billion project),” he added.

Recto said that the reason behind low survival rate in cases of some areas should also be identified.

“Tree planting is a climate change resilience measure. It is a program that aims to boost the forest stock
of our country so it can absorb carbon dioxide, while providing livelihood and enriching our
biodiversity,” Recto said.

“What we have been shown so far is a forest of newsprint of reports and vouchers of spending on NGP.
Show us the actual greenery,” he added.

The NGP is a government program launched in 2011 which sought to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million
hectares in six years.

Villar seeks rehab of bamboo industry

Manila Standard | November 28, 2019

Senator Cynthia Villar, chairman of the Senate agriculture and food committee, said she is open to
amend the DENR budget to realign the National Greening Program funds to bamboo-planting programs
to rehabilitate the country’s denuded forest and respond to lumber demand.

Villar has been crafting and pushing for legislative measures to develop the bamboo industry in the
Philippines.

She said that there is a need to aggressively promote the product development and market access of
bamboo and rattan products in the ASEAN Region since member-states account for approximately 20
percent or USD393 million of the global trade in these products.

She said NGP’s budget allocation of P4.5 billion for next year can be realigned to projects increasing
bamboo trees in the country. This is higher than its P2.6-billion 2019 budget.

The senator strongly supports the proposal of Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to increase funds for
bamboo-planting programs.

In backing Cimatu’s stand for an increased budget for bamboo, Villar said that “even if you cut it
[bamboo], it will regrow.”

The senator has maintained that bamboo is a cash crop for Filipino farmers and can be a good source of
income and livelihood for poor communities, particularly in rural areas in the country.
She underscored the importance of bamboo, which also prompted the issuance of Executive Order No.
879 that created the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council in 2010.

Executive Order No. 879 directs the use of bamboo for at least 25 percent of the desk and other
furniture requirements of public elementary and secondary schools in our country, as well as prioritizing
the use of bamboo in furniture, fixtures and other construction requirements of government facilities.

The senator, a known environmental advocate, has sponsored the DENR’s recommended budget for
next year for amendment and approval in the committee level.

Senator Panfilo Lacson also favored the additional funds for bamboo projects as he questioned the
effectiveness of the government’s forest rehabilitation program.

According to Lacson, he does not see its output despite annually receiving funds from Congress.

Cimatu said he intends to increase the country’s forest coverage, which is currently at 23 percent, and is
lowest in Southeast Asia. The global forest coverage average is 30 percent.

While the DENR works on rehabilitating degraded forests, Cimatu, however, said they also have to keep
in mind the country’s demand for lumber.

The country produces one million cubic meters of lumber per year while the annual lumber demand is at
five million cubic meters. The rest would have to be imported from foreign suppliers.

Because of this, Cimatu said he proposes to use bamboo as substitute for lumber.

Villar has filed Senate Bill 716 or the Bamboo Industry Act to institutionalize the Philippine Bamboo
Industry Development Program and strengthen the government’s efforts in encouraging bamboo
plantation, research on its development and utilization.

She also co-authored SB 1478 or the “Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Act of 2017″ which
seeks to institutionalize bamboo industry development in our country by creating the BIRDC.

Pagtulun-an

Interview:

10 MILLION TREES IN 10 YEARS

FOR A GREENER NEGROS MOVEMENT

1. Can you tell us an overview of your organization?

2. What prompted the pioneers to form this movement?
3. How do you plan to achieve the 10 Million goal?
4. What specific activities and programs have you conducted in the past?
5. How can we support your program?