Gina pushes for mangrove, bamboo planting in NegOcc

DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Regina Paz “Gina” Lopez said she will push for mangrove and bamboo planting in Negros Occidental.

Lopez, who inspected the closed mine site in Sipalay City on Tuesday, said the DENR will do an area development for the province, which will be implemented this year.

She said the program, which will help the host community, will also guarantee residents an income.

The DENR chief said there is a need for more mangroves because an area without mangroves suffers more damage in terms of property and lives during typhoons and calamities.

Lopez also cited the importance of planting bamboo, which is good in carbon sequestration. It is also a low-cost material for housing, she added.

“We will work with Negros. We will make sure,” she said.

She said DENR wants to work with the Negrenses “to lift this (province) up and “make this a great, big, magnificent economic zone.”

Lopez added that she loves the Negrenses because they are “so sweet, and so nice.”

Lopez presented an alternative livelihood program to some residents in Sipalay City who attended the mining forum the other day.

She said that DENR will kick-start ecotourism projects as long as the residents and the local government are committed to the program.

Meeting with CPP-NPA leader

In Dumaguete City, Lopez said she wants to meet with the leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) in Negros.

Lopez asked Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, a consultant of the CPPNPA-National Democratic Front peace panel, to facilitate the meeting with Frank Fernandez.

She reiterated her pronouncements to work with the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines to protect the environment, adding if social justice on the ground would be addressed there won't be any fighting.