Tree planting 'should not hinder' students from graduating

DAVAO. Tree planting activity. (Ralph Lawrence G. Llemit)
DAVAO. Tree planting activity. (Ralph Lawrence G. Llemit)

AN ENVIRONMENTALIST said the proposed tree planting prerequisite for graduation is a welcome piece of legislation, but it should not be a hindrance to the students' graduation.

The House of Representatives recently approved on third and final reading House Bill 8728 or the "Graduation Legacy for the Environment Act."

Once signed into law, all graduating elementary, high school, and college students are required to plant at least 10 trees as a prerequisite for graduation.

The bill states trees should be planted in any of the following areas: forest lands, mangrove and protected areas, ancestral domains, civil and military reservations, urban areas under the greening plan of the local government units, inactive and abandoned mine sites, and other suitable lands.

Virginia Benosa-Llorin, Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines campaigner, said it should be complemented by appropriate programs.

"It should instill the value of protecting the environment and providing continuity and sustainability of our natural resources for the next generations," Benosa-Llorin said.

However, she said it should not cause the delay for graduating students.

"But rather part of a system that helps them understand that development and growth goes hand-in-hand with protection of the environment," Benosa-Llorin said.

The environmentalist also said a counterpart bill should also be passed in both the Senate and House of Representatives to consider the use of fruit-bearing trees for this as part also of food security measures.

With the announcement of new legislators being days away from now, Benosa-Llorin said Greenpeace hopes more bills related to protecting the environment will be crafted.

"Aside from planting trees, we hope our lawmakers would seriously consider, for example, legislation to ban the construction of coal-fired power plants and support measures to accelerate the full adoption of renewable energy in the Philippines," she said.

Interface Development Interventions (Idis) policy advocacy officer Rain Catague said the school should also initiate a tree-nurturing activity.

"It should not stop on the tree planting only. Unta naa sab tree nurturing activity kay mag-stop lang man gud ang idea sa tree planting, pero after, di na mabalikan to check if nag-survive ba gyud ang gitanom na puno (There should also have a tree nurturing activity because it should not stop in the tree planting. No one will check if those planted had survived)," Catague said.

She suggested that schools should instead adopt a certain site wherein they could focus the tree planting.

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