GUAGUA Mayor Dante Torres led officials of the Sangguniang Kabataan of Guagua in a tree-planting activity in a portion of the FVR Megadike Wednesday, August 14, 2019.

The event was part of the town’s greening campaign to combat climate change and also to transform the portion of the megadike into an eco-tourism destination.

Dozens of tree saplings were planted by Torres and the youth leaders at side of the dike facing Betis District.

Last July, Rotarians under Cluster 4-A led a tree planting event at the west lateral portion of the FVR Megadike.

Torres is capitalizing on the area that is already a frequent destination for bikers from all over Pampanga after certain sections of dike roads have been paved by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The area will also be promoted as the next pilgrimage destination in Pampanga during the Lenten season, as the municipal government had finished the construction of life-size murals of the traditional Stations of the Cross depicting the passion and death of Jesus Christ in the area located near the old Paglabuan River.

The area is the former site of the once strong Paglabuan River that shrunk into a meager creek after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Lahar silted and covered the once vast area of the river. It is in this area where the Guagua section of the Megadike was constructed.