THE San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) for the adopt-a-site watershed rehabilitation project within the Upper Imbang-Caliban Watershed at Sitio Campuestohan in Barangay Cabatangan, Talisay City Saturday.
The SMB represented by its plant manager Dante Patrimonio signed MOU with Baciwa represented by the assistant general manager for administration Samuel Penado during the 9th annual Trees Brew Life tree planting at the Upper Imbang-Caliban Watershed in Sitio Campuestohan, Barangay Cabatangan.
The activity was participated by SMB personnel along with its partners Baciwa, Negros Press Club, Bacolod City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Enro) and Rotary Club of Bacolod Central where they planted about 1,700 seedlings of hardwood, mangrove and fruit-bearing species.
Patrimonio said they started the project, the Trees Brew Life, nine years ago.
“We dug our hands in the soil and planted the first of many seedlings that we had the pleasure of cultivating through our Trees Brew Life program. After nine years. What began as a vision has certainly come into fruition. With your help, together with our dependents, business partners and stakeholders, SMB has succeeded in planting over 600,000 seedlings in a different location across our areas of operations in the country,” he said.
He added that these trees have brewed life.
Patrimonio noted that during the State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Rodrigo Duterte, the President reiterated the strong need to restore the country’s environmental integrity and for citizens to accept stewardship of the country’s natural resources.
Apart from its re-greening efforts, SMB has adapted water sustainability measures in line with San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) pledge to cut water consumption across all of its business by 50 percent.
As of March this, SMC has been able to save four billion liters of water, equivalent to the daily water consumption of 137,000 households.
In September 2017, SMB also discontinued its plastic bottled water business which furthered the company’s commitment to reduce its environmental footprint.
Patrimonio said that instead of selling bottled water, SMC will invest in filtration technology which will be deployed during calamities to provide access to safe drinking water.
“Through these seedlings, together we can create a better world for ourselves and for future generations. Let each one of us do our share in protecting our environment. Let each one of us plant trees in all Saturday’s of August,” he said.
Maria Antonieta Lopez, communication officer of SMB, said the watersheds play a very critical role in ensuring the abundant supply of groundwater.
She said Bacolod City is within the 31,790-hectare catchment area and relies on groundwater as its main source of water supply. It is largely dependent on the Upper Caliban-Imbang Watershed formerly referred to as Baciwa Watershed, which is the headwaters and recharge area.
It has a total reservation area of 1,000 hectares and is within the Northern Negros Protection Area. It also home to varied endangered species of flora and fauna lime medici herbs, spotted deer, Visayan warty pig and bleeding heart pigeon which are endemic to the Visayan faunal region.
“However, a study by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) showed low and slow recharge to the groundwater in the area. Therefore, protection and preservation of the Upper Caliban-Imbang Watershed and its buffer area should be sustained,” Lopez said.
She said aside from Baciwa, other private water systems that operate within the basin and commercial establishments that extract water supplies like SMB are significant users of the watershed services.
Lopez noted that the SMC was among those who have contributed to the preservation of the area in the 1990’s, in partnership with the Negros Forest Ecological Foundation and the Philippine Business for Social Progress.
For his part, Penado said he is thankful to SMB for their undertaking and endeavor for the environment.
“After several years, our water level somehow did not drop in spite of a big number of users or consumers,” he said.
Penado disclosed that in 1985, the city’s water level dropped by 15 meters along SMB’s area going downstream because of the impact of the water usage, but now it was already mitigated because of the reforestation that is being done.