Tree planting in Las Piñas and Parañaque

The Philippines will be hosting the East Asian Seas Congress (EASC) on November 23-27, 2009 at the Philippine International Convention Center. 1,500 delegates from 38 countries will take part in the conference.

One of the side events of the forum is a tree-planting activity at the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Eco-Tourism Area (LPPCHEA) on November 27, 2009. 65 delegates to the EASC Youth Forum and 52 cadets from the international seafarer training ship “T.S. Spirit of MOL” will make a memorable mark as they take part in planting “bakawan” (mangrove) “bitaog” seedlings in the said protected area.

Parañaque City Mayor Florencio Bernabe, Jr. alongside DENR-NCR officials will welcome the delegates and brief them on the efforts being done to save the area from further despoliation as an input to the global campaign in protecting the environment.

“As we continue with our efforts to bring further growth to the city, we have integrated the environmental aspects of progress in our development plans.”, Mayor Bernabe said.

Apart from caring for the city’s coastal area, the city government has taken concrete steps to rehabilitate its river system which once provided livelihood for its citizens and sustained its early industries, milkfish-raising and saltmaking. It has also adopted an environmentally-friendly waste management system that promotes recycling and composting.

For his environmentally-friendly programs, Parañaque City Mayor Jun Bernabe was given the prestigious Anvil Award of Excellence in Public Relations for Environmental Protection in 2006.

Meanwhile, Parañaque Solid Waste and Environmental Sanitation Office (SWAESO) personnel, headed by department in-charge Mr. Wilfrido de Ocampo, in tandem with DENR crew are staging a coastal clean-up to collect trash and debris swept in by the tide. (Public Information Office)