BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
TUGUEGARAO CITY (September 16, 2023)—To kick off the Philippine Bamboo Month celebration, more than 16,000 bamboo propagules and Indigenous species were recently planted by around 3,000 volunteers in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley).
According to Carolyn Annang-Tumamao, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 2 information officer, the planting activity, which was spearheaded by the DENR Region 2 in partnership with One Movement Inc., was simultaneously held in 17 sites in the region.
These sites can be found in the following towns: Ivana in Batanes; Baggao, Camalaniugan, Sanchez Mira, Solana, Gattaran and Tuguegarao City in Cagayan; Dinapigue, Palanan, Quirino, Ramon, Naguilian, San Guillermo and Cabagan in Isabela; Diffun in Quirino; and Bambang in Nueva Vizcaya.
Planted in these sites were bamboo and Indigenous tree species such as bayog, kawayan tinik, kawayan kiling, narra, molave, kalumpit, ipil and dao.
Presidential Proclamation 1401 was signed on June 27, 2022 which declared September as Philippine Bamboo Month while September 26 is annually celebrated as Save Sierra Madre Day under Proclamation 413 signed in 2009.
Tumamao said the activity is part of a simultaneous nationwide bamboo and tree-planting activity in support of the socioeconomic and environmental development agenda of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. tagged as “LAB for All: Lingap at Alagang Bayanihan,” which was also done in time with the President’s birthday celebration.
“We just don’t plant trees and bamboo, we grow them. Growing connotes maintenance and protection,” said DENR Region 2 Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan.
Officials and representatives from the national government, including law enforcement agencies, municipal and barangay local government units, people’s organizations, civil society organizations, mining companies and other partners, also participated in the activity.
Bambalan also emphasized that it is the responsibility of the volunteers to ensure the survival of the seedlings. She said the One Movement Inc. intends to plant trees within the 10 provinces covering the Sierra Madre Mountain range that include Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya.