Press Release:

Bikers prepare for the bike, trek and plant event.
Photo courtesy Globe Telecom Inc.

Globe joins DENR’s “Bike. Plant. Hike 2017” reforestation initiative

TELECOMMUNICATIONS company Globe Telecom Inc. has joined the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in showcasing the beauty of Philippine forests and in encouraging the public to be part of responsible tourism and proactive reforestation.

Globe employees took part in DENR’s Bike.Hike.Plant 2017 tree-planting initiative organized by the Forest Management Bureau to celebrate Arbor Day and the 154^th anniversary of the Philippine Forestry Service.  The event was conducted to inspire various stakeholders to take care of the forests as well as widen the network of forestry champions to include bikers and hikers.

The volunteers participated in a 30-km bike and trek activity that runs from the DENR Region 3 Office in Government Center, Maimpis, San Fernando City, Pampanga up to Mt. Arayat National Park. Over 1,000 participants biked around the city and hiked up to the chosen area to plant seedlings of various indigenous and agroforestry tree species. 

At the same time, Globe provided Libreng Charging stations during the event to serve everyone who joined the celebration.

“Environmental sustainability is one of the immediate responsibilities of Globe especially in the face of global warming.  Thus, aside from reducing and managing the impact of the company’s business operations on the planet, Globe also invests on environmental protection and partners with various organizations, particularly on reforestation programs to reduce our ecological footprint and mitigate the drastic effects of climate change,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe SVP for Corporate Communications.

Earlier, Globe volunteers also supported DENR’s Earth Month activities such as the coastal clean up in Las Pinas Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA), the mangrove tree planting activity in Calatagan, Batangas, and watershed ecosystem awareness in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

In 2016, Globe has invested P2.371 million on total environmental protection such as reforestation programs, solid waste manage, and hazardous waste disposal and treatment.  It has also donated P1.4 million as initial grant for 13,500 seedlings to non-profit organization Hineleban Foundation which advocates environmental conservation and livelihood development.

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Press Release: Southern Tagalog

Southern Tagalog’s national minorities

(NMs) to unite with Bangsamoro, other NMs for just peace, self-determination

NATIONAL minority groups and people’s organizations from the Southern Tagalog region will once again unite with various regions for the Lakbayan ng Bangsamoro at iba pang Pambansang Minorya para sa Sariling Pagpapasya at Makatarungang Kapayapaan.

Arriving in the Camarines Norte-Quezon border by August 28, the delegations from Mindoro, Rizal, and Palawan will be welcomed by the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) community. There, they shall enjoin with the Bangsamoro, Lumad, and other national minorities from Visayas and Mindanao in a series of discussions, cultural exchanges, and solidarity programs.

This year’s Lakbayan, while remaining firm on its call for the national minorities’ right to self-determination and defense of their ancestral lands, now put special focus on recent fascist policies of the US-Duterte regime, including the Martial Law in Mindanao that they say has “dragged thousands of lives in peril”.

In the Southern Tagalog region, the groups of Mangyan, Dumagat, Remontado and Palawan hilltribes, among others, are hounded by intense militarization of their communities wrought by the regime’s all-out war policy against the New People’s Army the prior implementation of the new Development Suppport and Security Plan (DSSP) “Kapayapaan”.

Military forces numbering at 29 batallions are now at the region, racking up human rights violations. Cases of camping in educational institutions, barangay halls, and civilian houses; and also civilian casualties from aerial bombings have also been recorded.

The end of encroachment of large-scale mining projects and other “development” projects are also part of the reasons why the groups unite in the region for the coming days. In the region, national minority groups have defended their land and livelihoods from the Laiban Dam project in the Rizal-Quezon provinces; Pacific Coast City in Quezon-Aurora; Sierra Madre Dam; and Violago HydroPower.

Meanwhile, the hilltribes of Palawan have been hit by expanding plantations of coffee, cacao, banana, pineapple, and palm oil, among others. Nickel mining projects, meanwhile, threaten thousands of Mangyans in Mindoro island.

They bring their calls to Manila, as they converge with other national minorities from North and Central Luzon.

By August 29, continuous solidarity programs and cultural exchanges will be held at the UPLB, coalescing into a Grand Regional Salubong (Welcome) by various regional mass organizations before they push to the national capital.

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