M arcos marks his birthday by planting trees and bamboos

Manila:president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos observed his 65th birthday by kick-starting the simultaneous planting of trees and bamboos in the town of San Mateo, Rizal province east of Metro Manila.

In leading the occasion in a landfill operated by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Marcos stressed the need to take care of the environment for the next generation.

The president said the environment issue “may be the world’s biggest concern today” and this is the reason why Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Maria Antonio Yulo-loyzaga chose tree planting event on his birthday.

“The DENR secretary and I were talking and she told me we have to do something since you are environmentally concerned,” Marcos said in Filipino.

“Secretary Loyzaga said we would do an event where we can remind the Filipinos, ”Marcos added, “that constantly, the care of the environment is very important.”

According to the Marcos, the bamboos and other trees are part of the DENR “green” programme which already achieved the goal of planting two million trees in reforested land from 2011 to 2021.

For 2022, he said the DENR plans 46,265 hectares of reforested land and 11,631 hectares in 2023.

Marcos said that aside from greening, the project would also create jobs and employment opportunities for Filipinos particularly in the countryside.

In his first state of the nation address before the joint session of the House of Representative and the Senate last June, Marcos said environmental preservation and sustainability would be a top priority of his administration.

He reiterated this message in his speech in San Mateo as he said: “What we are doing today is a step that we can actually do to hold and strengthen our natural resources – take care of our environment so that our children and the next generation of Filipinos will inherit something good.”

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