Plant Trees for Future Generations

Lawmakers are confident that the coming 17th Congress would give priority to the enhancement and protection of the country’s forest cover.

“We are all witnesses to nature’s fury. Global warming and climate change are now a real threat to humanity. We must do our part and act now to counter the problem of biodiversity loss for the sake of the future generations,” the lawmakers stressed.

There are various environmental measures under consideration by the House Committee on Reforestation which, if not passed due to time constraint, are sure to be reintroduced in the early days of the next Congress. Two of these measures are:

1) House Bill 3556 – “An Act to require every student to plant (ten) trees every year” authored by Reps. Rufus Rodriguez and Maximo Rodriguez; and

2) HB 972 – “An Act requiring all graduating elementary, high school and college students to plant at least ten (10) tress each as a prerequisite for graduation and for other related purposes,” by Reps. Francisco Ashley L. Acedillo and Gary C. Alejano.

“While we recognize the right of the youth to a balanced and healthful ecology, as proclaimed in the 1987 Constitution, there is no reason why they cannot be made to contribute in order to ensure that this would be an actual reality,” Magdalo Party-list Reps. Acedillo and Alejano said.

They also noted that HB 972 also complements Executive Order No. 26, Series of 2011, issued by President Benigno S. Aquino III, which aims to mobilize students and government employees to plant 1.5 billion trees over a period of six years from 2011 to 2016.

With over 12 million students graduating from elementary and nearly five million from high school, and almost 500,000 graduating from college each year, this initiative, if properly implemented, will ensure that at least 175 million new trees would be planted each year, the Magdalo lawmakers pointed out.

“Even with a survival rate of only 10 percent, this would translate to an additional 525 million trees available for the youth to enjoy, when they assume the mantle of leadership in the future,” Acedillo and Alejano stressed.

Reps. Rufus B. Rodriguez and Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr., on the other hand, explained that, at present, more trees are being felled due to shifting agricultural practices, urban and industrial development, illegal lumber trade and large-scale mining, among others.

“Furthermore, global warming and climate change are environmental phenomena intertwined with the world’s decreasing biodiversity. The loss of biodiversity is making climate change more complicated which poses threat on the planet’s marine and plant life,” the Rodriguez brothers added. (PNA) SCS/PR/EBP