Environment protection given a boost

Director’s Cut: (This portion features the thoughts of DepEd Regional Director Gloria D. Benigno, CESO IV to all stakeholders and recipients of the efforts to improve the basic education) "I am your team leader, you are my team mates, together, let us work as a team.”

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The harsh reality brought by Typhoon Pablo (internationally known as Bopha) where Davao Region especially the Province of Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley was heavily devastated and other weather disturbances brought by climate change makes it imperative that information and education campaign on environmental concerns will be a priority of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and eight other agencies that convened several months ago and had come out with a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).

On Thursday, the group composed of the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Department (DSWD), Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and the People Collaborating for Environmental & Economic Management in Davao Foundation, Inc. (PCEEM) with DENR as focal agency met again to do the Ceremonial Signing of the MOA at the Grand MenSeng Hotel in Davao City.

The MOA was crafted based from the existing laws and ordinances crafted to protect the environment namely PD 1151 otherwise known as the Philippine Environmental Policy identifies the different agencies of the government that are charged with environmental protection, PD 1152 otherwise known as the Philippine Environmental Code enumerates the different dimensions of the environment that needs to be protected and the importance of environmental education and public information activities as strategies to simulate awareness and encourage public-private involvement in environmental protection.

Other equally significant legislations are Republic Act 9512 otherwise known as the “Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008” states the promotion of national awareness on the role of natural resources in economic growth and the importance of environmental conservation and ecological balance towards sustained national development and Sec. 6 of RA 9512 prescribes a collaborative inter-agency and multi-sectoral effort in the implementation of public education and awareness programs on environmental protection and conservation.

Each of the participating government agencies and non-government organizations are given specific tasks to do in the protection and conservation of the environment which are spelled out in the said MOA.

For DepEd under the leadership of Regional Director Gloria D. Benigno, the agency is tasked to facilitate the integration of environmental education at the basic education level in the region both in the formal and non-formal levels; undertakes trainings and seminars on environmental education and sustainable concerns for educational administrators, teachers, and students and advises the school system in the region to support the various international and national environmental celebrations, through related programs and activities

During the MOA signing, Director Benigno informed the group that DepEd has long been implementing the said tasks and will continue to do so because it is in their mandate to do so.

As the lead agency, the DENR headed by Regional Executive Director Joselin Marcus E. Fragada is given the responsibilities to provide information and update on the status of environmental issues and concerns in the region; to provide guidance in the overall implementation of RA 9512 in the region; to convene inter-agency committee meetings and provides secretariat support and to coordinate with concerned agencies for the continuous institutional networking on environmental education and programs.

With this MOA already signed, it is expected that this joint efforts will bring forth significant changes in the way we protect the environment for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.

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You can access DepEd Updates, latest issuances, photos and other relevant information through our website: region11.deped.gov.ph and our Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/deped.regionxi. For comments, suggestions and/or contributions, send your email to depedregion11@gmail.com. For queries, complains and other concerns, call DepEd-Davao Region at (082) 227-9342 or fax to (082) 227-1102 and (082) 221-6147.