PTT Gas Up For A Tree Event at Morong, Bataan

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"Ang nais ko ay maging luntian ang kulay sa paligid ng daang matuwid" or something to that effect. This is what all honorable nature lovers should say when the need to take care of our environment is threatened. We should act now before it's too late. We can only save our planet if we all do our share and contribute for a greater and "greener" cause.

Set aside the "epals" and "pasaways" of the government and private sector and put forward political will and social responsibility so we can guarantee a bright future for the next generation. We start with the land we are living, and hopefully others around the world will follow.

If the goal of our President (and his chosen men) is to clean up our government from "trapos" and "buwayas" and to put everything in its rightful place, the people (both locals and foreigners living in and visiting from out of the country) coming from the private sector should also try their best to come up with ways on how to help him in his endeavor. He can only do much so he needs all of our help to accomplish greater tasks before he ends his presidency.

 

PTT Philippines, which originated from Thailand, has made exceptional efforts to help out our country, specifically on caring for nature, by sponsoring a noble project called Gas Up for a Tree held at Morong, Bataan.

We didn't actually took that bus going to Morong, Bataan but we did went on convoy via a van dedicated to the bloggers that were invited to witness the 2nd tree planting activity of PTT. The first one was done sometime last June but was not covered by any blogger. I guess the organizers probably realized their efforts will get more mileage if they get the opportunity to be written in blogs that are now considered very influential.

Along with other people (from the bus) and from another bus which came all the way from Subic, plus other vehicles with guests and VIPs from different sectors, all gathered around to take part in such a noble event.

I was actually surprised when I learned that a few political personalities were also there at the event.

The leading personality at the event was Secretary Nereus Acosta, the Chief Presidential Adviser for Environmental Protection,  plus other notable persons like Chairman Felicito Payumo and Tarlac Governor Victor Yap.

There was also Wisarn Chawalitanon, President and CEO of PTT Philippines Corporation and
and Paul Patricio J. Senador, president of PTT Philippines Foundation, plus a few more people from PTT Philippines. I've heard there were some VIPs which came all the way from Subic as well.

There were also a great number of students from different colleges, and a few advocacy groups aside from the many other people who came from the regional government agencies like DSWD.

One notable part of our trek towards the tree planting site was the hanging bridge which everyone had to cross. We were told that crossing the bridge should be limited to 10 people crossing the bridge at a time to ensure safety.

Many of us were tempted to take a picture for souvenir as it's not very often that you get to visit a hanging bridge.

 

It was unbelievably hot that day. I forgot to bring a sunblock lotion so expect to see me "burned" once more. But it was all worth it.The feeling was all swell even after you've realized you've gone "nognog" after the event.

Well It was better to have a bright sunny day rather than to experience a rainy muddy path towards the tree planting site. I'm sure it will be extremely difficult to trek in the middle of the rain.

 

I've been saying earlier that it was a tree planting site...I think its better if I now call it the "Reforestation Site" as announced by the banners we passed by.

From the signage I've also learned that we are in a barangay called Kanawan, and a few minutes later that the tribe who lives in the area are called Magbukun.

Everyone is proud and supportive of this PTT Gas Up For A Tree project. The people behind and in support of this project deserve our applause. Nature should be well taken care of, and we should make efforts to rebuild or reforest our dead and dry mountains.

 

The view of the reforestation site from up front and from the top of the hill shows many tents setup for the reforestation or tree planting event. Originally it should have been just the rightmost "bahay kubo" or nipa hut that serves as the tree seedling nursery.

You can see the children from the Magbukun tribe on their way towards us. It was so easy for them to run uphill. I realized all the exercise I am getting is just climbing the stairs of the MRT.

 

Officials from both private and public sector pose in front of the media  with the trees assigned to them. They were given corresponding spots to plant their trees which will be taken care of by the Magbukun tribe headed by their chief.

We've chosen our trees that we will plant today, and it will eventually become part of a forest on that particular mountain in Morong, Bataan.

I hope our trees survive (through rainy and dry seasons) and miraculously grow up to be tall, huge and magnificent trees. I hope I get a chance to go back and check on the condition of our trees after a few months, or years, whichever is more appropriate and conveniently possible. This project needs to be sustained and not just a one-time event meant only for show or photo ops.





There are more stories to tell but I will let the other photos tell a better story...

Watch out for more photos at https://www.facebook.com/WazzupPilipinas soon! (when I get the time to upload them all)



Below is PTT Philippines' official press release:



The denuded portion of a tropical jungle inside the Bataan National Park (BNP) is slowly getting back to its natural form with trees starting to grow once again.


This developed as 300 volunteers from both government and non-government organizations trekked to the mountain over the weekend to plant more seedlings as part of the second phase of PTT Philippines Corporation’s (PTT) tree-planting activity dubbed as “Gas Up for a Tree” project.


PTT Philippines is a local subsidiary of Thai-oil giant PTT.


The project is in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the National Commission for Indigenous People (NCIP), the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), the Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU), Mga Bayani ng Kalikasan, Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), Municipality of Morong, Bataan and Wide Out Technology.


Secretary Nereus Acosta, Chief Presidential Adviser for Environmental Protection; Wisarn Chawalitanon, President and CEO of PTT Philippines; and Paul Patricio J. Senador, president of PTT Philippines Foundation led other volunteers in planting new trees at the denuded portion of BNP located in Morong, Bataan.


The three were also joined by Thai Embassy Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission Thanis Na Songkhla, former BCDA Chairman Felicito Payumo, Tarlac Gov. Victor Yap, DENR Region 3 Director Maximo Dichoso, Director Adelina Apostol of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 3, Brig. Gen. Raul del Rosario of the Philippine Air Force, and General Manager Rafael Llave of the Bataan Technological Park, Inc.


Several students and volunteers from various non-government organizations, including PTT employees, also took part in the tree-planting activity.


Since the “Gas Up for a Tree” project was launched in May, there are about 2,000 trees now growing in the denuded area of BNP, Chawalitanon said. He added that they expect to plant at least 10,000 trees by end of September and eventually reach the 30,000 target by year 2015.


“This is our way of giving back to Mother Earth and to the Philippines for embracing us (PTT) with the Filipino community,” Chawalitanon said.


“As everyone knows, PTT is a Thai-owned company but we came here in the Philippines not only to do business but to commit ourselves to help Filipinos in nation-building, including the preservation and protection of the environment.”


“Gas Up for a Tree” is PTT’s corporate social responsibility project that aims to reforest 50 hectares of denuded forest within the BNP, particularly within the ancestral lands of the Magbukun tribe, one of 18 Aeta tribes in Bataan.


Under the project, every purchase of P1,000 worth of PTT gasoline and diesel products commits PTT to plant one tree under the motorist’s name.


With the help of Wide Out Technology, PTT’s technology partner, the exact location and growth of the tree may also be monitored online.

More than 100 Aeta families from Magbukun tribe also benefited from the project as they were given livelihood as managers of a seedling nursery and caretaker of the trees.


Apart from tree-planting, PTT Philippines Foundation which was formally created in 2007, also espouses educational and sports development, outreach and disaster relief programs, and community development.


To know more about PTT’s "Gas Up for a Tree” project, please visit and like http://www.facebook.com/pttgasupforatreeproject.


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About PTT
PTT is the largest petroleum company in Thailand engaged in the downstream and upstream petroleum business including petrochemical and fuel trading business. PTT has a ranking of 95 for 2012 in the Fortune Global 500 with revenue of $ 79 Billion. The Fortune Global 500 is the annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide by revenue as compiled and listed by Fortune 500 magazine.


PTT Philippines Corporation (PTTPC) is one of the wholly owned subsidiary companies in the Philippines of PTT. PTTPC is tasked to supply and distribute various petroleum and lubricants products in the Philippine domestic market and have various retail gasoline stations in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Cebu.

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