By Gideon C. Corgue
PAGADIAN CITY, Feb 28 (PIA) -- Clad in blue t-shirts printed with ‘pulis’ and black short pants and in rubber shoes, the police of Zamboanga del Sur and Pagadian City conducted on Friday (Feb. 17) a tree planting activity here.
In response to the government’s call for the participation of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the government’s priority program – the national greening program (NGP), the joint forces of Zamboanga del Sur Police Provincial Office, Regional Public Safety Battalion, and Police Public Safety Battalion launched the project with the theme, “Pulis Makakalikasan: Sampung Milyong Puno, Pamana sa Kinabukasan.”
Police community relations (PCR) chief Sr. Inspector Simplicio Pasaol said a total of 258 police personnel planted ‘bakhaw’ and mahogany seedlings in the coastal area in barangays Kawit and Buenavista. “The seedlings were given by the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the barangay officials of Kawit,” Pasaol reported.
Pasaol said the project is the convergence initiative between the PNP and DENR as their contribution in the administration of President Benigno Simeon S. Aquino III.
Under the Executive Order (EO) No. 6, Pasaol said each PNP personnel in the country are required to plant six trees per month until February 28, 2013 to pursue sustainable development for poverty reduction, food security, biodiversity, conservation and climate change mitigation.
Meanwhile, provincial director Supt. Jose Bayani Gucela said the PNP organization advocates the need to protect the environment to prevent the public including the policemen and their families the risks of the natural disasters like deadly landslides and flashfloods.
Pasaol said each PNP personnel will be planting 72 within a year to cope up the quota of 10 million trees.
PNP has a total strong force of 145,000 members.