Close to 300 employees of Aboitiz-owned Davao Light & Power Co. joined by 60 community resident volunteers and 20 army soldiers from the 84th Infantry Battalion trooped to the uplands of Upper Kibalang in barangay Marilog last Saturday, July 21 to plant 7,000 seedlings of various species.
The planting site is a 7-hectare contiguous area of the 500-hectare logged-over mountain that the company adopted in May 2011 from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Last year a total of 5,200 tree seedlings were planted in a 5-hectare area over a hundred meters away from the Davao-Bukidnon national highway some 59 kilometers away from downtown Davao City. Early this year three (3) other stakeholder-partners namely Ateneo de Davao University, the Reservists from the 22nd Infantry (Eagle) Division of the Philippine Army, and the employees of the National Irrigation Administration Region XI planted 6,000 seedlings.
This figure brings the total number of trees planted this year to 13,000. Hence, 18,200 seedlings are already planted over the last two years (2011 – 2012). The seedlings consisted of indigenous and fruit bearing trees and the species include some rubber, cacao, durian, mahogany, narra, and lawaan.
In May, 2011 Davao Light signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the adoption of an area to be used as the company’s permanent tree planting site. Another signatory to the agreement is the Upper Kibalang Agro Forestry Association (UKAFA), the people’s organization authorized by the DENR to be the steward of the agency’s over 1,300-hectare Community-based Forest Management (CBFM) Project in the area.
In his message for the employees and other volunteer planters, including local residents, right after the planting activities last Saturday Davao Light Exec. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Arturo Milan said that the tree planting project done annually by employees of all Aboitiz companies is in accord with the company’s main thrust – that of building relationship bridges with the community while investing in environmentally sustainable projects like planting trees.
Milan said the Upper Kibalang site will be the company’s showcase of what a sustainable environment project should be.
He said the management is looking forward to the realization of an Aboitiz Park in that area within the next few years.
Last Saturday’s tree planting was the first time that was attended by all the top Davao Light executives based in Davao City. The top management include EVP & COO Milan, VP for Administration Bien Garcia, Vice President for Engineering Rodger Velasco, VP for Administration Bien Garcia, VP for Human Resources Lito Ortiz and the rest of the assistant vice presidents and department managers.
The community volunteers included UKAFA chairman Idilfonso Pama and Vice Chair Mimi Payusan.
Aside from tree planting, some of the company employees painted a Health Center project that Davao Light also supported. It benefits the residents not only of the Gawad Kalinga Village in Upper Kibalang, but the people in nearby areas as well.
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