25 June 2023 | National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) participates in the Professional Regulatory Commission’s (PRC) Orientation Program, Tree Planting, Growing, and Nurturing activity at the La Mesa Watershed Reservation in Quezon City.
Present during the activity were NCIP Chairperson Allen Capuyan, PRC Chairperson Charito Zamora, Commissioners Erwin Enad and Jose Cueto.
Also in attendance were Atty. Roberto Oliva of Society of Filipino Foresters, Inc. (SFFI)., Reynaldo Velasco Chairman Emeritus of The Million Tres Foundation Inc. (MFTI), and NCIP Commissioner Jen Sibug Las. A video message was also delivered by Department of Environment and Natural Resources Undersecretary Jonas R. Leones.
The event is an invitation and call for action to protect the environment and save Mother Earth by planting more trees.
In his message, Chairperson highlighted that almost 1/3 of the country’s territory are Ancestral Domains – hence, the importance of the environment to Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) in their way of life and identity. As such he encouraged having proper collaborative mechanisms that will enable ICCs/IPs to be critical partners and stakeholders in the quest for reforestation. He underscored that our ICCs/IPs are the protectors of our forests.
The event was also an opportunity for the signing of the amended Memorandum of Agreement between DENR, Climate Change Commission, PRC, SFFI, and NCIP – which aims to preserve and restore the ecosystem functions through scientific reforestation and address the effects of climate change in the country.
