A COMMERCIAL center and four non-government organizations joined hands with the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) in the global campaign for environmental consciousness.
They collectively provided an avenue for community involvement towards solving ecological issues that started with the observance of Earth Day last April 22 as their way to defend the “Green Generation.”
Banilad Town Centre (BTC) allowed itself to be the venue in achieving these objectives starting with a “Go Green” tree planting activity at its parking islands that Junior Chamber International (JCI) Cebu-Mactan Channel initiated.
BTC also hosted the “Earth In The News” photo exhibit by members of the Press Photographers of the Philippines (PPP) Cebu chapter.
Greepeace International and the Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation also opened separate exhibits that advocate their respective missions that are attuned to the core objectives of The Green Generation.
The local government units if Cebu City and Mandaue City supported the initiatives with the presence of Cebu City acting mayor Michael L. Rama, Mandaue City vice mayor Carlo Pontico C. Fortuna and councilor Diosdado Suico, who represented mayor Jonas C. Cortes.
They joined in the “Go Green” tree planting along with the top DENR officials in Central Visayas led by the regional executive director Leonardo R. Sibbaluca and Loreto A. Rivac, the city environment and natural resources officer for central Cebu.
Balance
“The efforts to save Mother Earth for future generations should not be in the hands of government alone,” remarked Rama when interviewed by the press people. “It is laudable that our friends in the private sector are actively working for the same cause.”
Fortuna, in his message during the brief program at the BTC lobby, stressed on the need to carry out a balanced development where “developers should not compromise the environment in the name of modernization.”
As national executive vice president of JCI Philippines, Fortuna said the global network of JCI is carrying out the “Go Green” campaign of the world president Jun Sup Shin of Korea who has been active in the campagn against climate change.
In his message read by Suico, Cortes said it is “our moral responsibility to take care of our planet and protect it from destruction and abuses.”
DENR regional executive director Leonardo R. Sibbaluca for Region 7 stressed that care for the environment should be an “everyday business of everyone,” not only on Earth Day.
Also, Emi Rose R. Parcon, 2009 president of JCI Cebu-Mactan Channel, underscored in her opening message that the environment is the most pressing advocacy.
“Literacy and hunger may not be felt by first world countries, but they also experience what we in the third world face as a result of the imbalance of our environment today,” she pointed out. “They have a Green Generation, too.”
The Green Generation is a two-year campaign of the Earth Day Network that culminates in the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2010.
It promotes a Carbon-free future based on renewable energy, responsible and sustainable consumption, and creation of a green economy through green education.
Cebu Gold Star Daily 