Tuesday, September 30, 2008 'Trees for Peace' launched
FROM "Bike for Peace" now comes "Trees for Peace."
Personnel of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp), in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Marikina City Government, will plant 250 mahogany seedlings at Tumana complex near Loyola Grand Villas in Marikina on Tuesday.
Presidential peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the activity is part of the month-long observance of peace month being held every September of the year.
Esperon said Opapp personnel will be at the forefront during the "peace tree planting" as part of pushing the peace process with rebel groups to attain a genuine and lasting peace in the country, particularly in Mindanao.
The DENR will provide the mahogany seedlings.
Environment Undersecretary Manuel Gerochi will represent Secretary Lito Atienza during the tree planting.
Marikina Mayor Maredes Carlos-Fernando will be on hand to attend the ceremony.
Last September 1, Opapp held a "Bike for Peace" wherein about 1,500 professional and bike enthusiasts participated in the 41-kilometer bicycle marathon from Pasig City to the Quezon City Memorial Circle, passing the cities of Mandaluyong and San Juan.
Mahogany, which has a very large canopy, grows as high as 150 feet with its trunks measuring as large as six feet in diameter. It is a natural rainforest abundantly found in the Philippines and other tropical countries.
The mahogany tree is regarded as one of the world's top of the line high-class furnitures, including the making of pianos, musical instruments, sculpture, decorative veneer and interior carvings. (VR/Sunnex)
