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By Marifel Moyano and Droy DueÑas, Haribon
Foundation
Earth Day is an internationally celebrated yet
still a relatively new concept in distant provinces in the
Philippines. Cagwait is a province in Surigao del Sur, and to reach
it requires a flight to Butuan and a painstaking eight-hour bus ride
through unpaved rough roads. However, as I looked out in the
distance from the bus’ window, the scenic backdrop of mountains
seemingly blanketed with thick forests offered me a sense of
serenity. The calmness, however, soon dissipates as soon as I caught
sight of passing large logging trucks, filled with timber. It could
have come from a production site, or straight from the forests.
Regardless, for a tree, that was once alive, it cannot distinguish
between an illegal logger’s saw blades from that of a licensed
one. For it, life had simply ceased and with its death is the loss
of home to all other life forms that depended on it. And of course,
inevitably, the loss of each tree in our natural forest is a
continuing threat to our survival as human beings.
The importance of forest conservation and
realizing that preserving it can also boost an economy is becoming
evident in Cagwait. As the team of Haribon disembarked in La
Purisima, Cagwait, a slogan that stated, Cagwait: Tourist Haven of
Surigao del Sur caught our sight. Arthur Luengas, MENRO Designate,
welcomed us and behind him was our ride to take us to where we would
stay. Needless to say, this ride would forever be a very memorable
moment. It was a large blue dump truck, appropriately carrying a
sign of No segregation No collection. We carried a few baggage and
some boxes, but we knew for sure there was more than enough room in
our ride to accommodate our belongings and us.
The piloting of Earth Day in Cagwait was an
effort made possible by Haribon’s European Commission-funded
project called Governance and Local Development of Endangered
(GOLDEN) Forest in partnership with the local government (LGU) of
Cagwait lead by Mayor Bonifacio Ondona. The municipal of Cagwait is
within project site, Mount Diwata Important Biodiversity Area range,
which continues to be threatened by destructive activities such as
logging and the lure from several mining companies. Before the sun
rose the morning of April 22nd, the Haribon team, together with
community organizers, Droi Duenas and Coco Kitche were already on
our way to the venue in the celebration in Cagwait’s commercial
center, Barangay Aras-asan. As we entered the venue, there were
already youth volunteers who were doing the backdrop for the event
along with other residents setting up and carrying tables and
chairs.
The first activities were Slogan and Poster
Making Contests with water in relation to forest conservation as its
theme. The room where this activity was held eventually filled with
youths representing eleven barangays in Cagwait. Some of them
thought of the theme ahead of time while others browsed through some
of the IEC materials we brought before jumping off to draw. As soon
as the words “Time’s up!” were said, the youth quickly signed
off their masterpieces and rushed downstairs to show off their work
in the next activity, the Earth Day Parade. Soon enough, there was a
large group of youth downstairs excitingly waiting for the parade to
start. San Vectores National High School’s band drummed the beat,
and got everyone in line. Soon, each barangay proudly walked with
the band holding up their posters and slogans. There were about
three hundred and twenty participants composed of youth, barangay
officials, Sannguniang Bayan Members, DENR Representative and LGUs
who marched together in the streets, intermittently shouting
“Atong Kinaiyahan, Atong Kaugmaon.” (Our nature, let us
protect.)
The highlight of the morning Program was Mayor
Ondona’s presentation and launching of his Clean and Green program
entitled Cagwait’s Best that will showcase the best model barangay,
school, purok and home. He said that making Cagwait the Tourist
Haven of Surigao del Sur can be achieved beginning with efforts to
keep Cagwait clean, and the participation of every sector is
important. Supporting conservation actions, like Earth Day
Celebration annually could increase the knowledge and awareness of
each constituent in nature conservation. In his speech he stressed
that “ Hulaton mo pa ba . . . makuha ang katapusang isda, maputol
ang katapusan punoan, mahurot ang katapusang palay ug mainom nga
tubig” (Will you have to wait … till the last fish is caught,
the last tree cut, the last rice stalk dries and the last drop of
water is drank) before it could trigger everybody to act together to
save mother earth.
The Earth Day Celebration also included a
Biodiversity Quiz Show wherein the eleven barangays participated and
competed to showcase their knowledge about biodiversity in general
and Philippine biodiversity. The winners for the following
activities were: Poster Making: Renejoy Adaya from Barangay La
Purisima (1st), Ronel Aporbo, Barangay Bitaugan (2nd), and Cherrylyn
Diente, Barangay Tubo-tubo (3rd); Slogan Making: Franklin Solis,
Barangay Lactudan (1st), Jovelyn Clemente (2nd), and Jisryl Raz,
from Barangay Tubo-tubo(3rd); and Biodiversity Quiz Champions were
Elyn Ruiz, Jennifer Lega, and Lotis Plaza from Barangay Unidad.
The Earth Day Program culminated with the
awarding of prizes and certificates of participation. Sangguniang
Kabataan representatives also spoke to share their impressions about
their first celebration of Earth Day in Cagwait, and they expressed
that they had enjoyed the interaction with other barangays and the
opportunity to be united for a cause that have contributed in
raising the awareness of other residents about the urgency of
protecting and conserving the Mount Diwata Important Biodiversity
Area range.
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