UCPB has partnered with Haribon Foundation to donate seedlings which the non-government organization will be planting at two protected areas in Nagcarlan, Laguna.
UCPB President and CEO Higinio O. Macadaeg Jr. signed the Bank’s commitment to support the foundation’s Road to 2020 program, an initiative to restore the country’s rainforests using native tree species.
Mr. Macadaeg said the partnership with Haribon reaffirms the Bank’s pro-environment advocacy. He shared with Haribon representatives that aside from providing financing to ventures in the renewables sector, the Bank successfully restored a part of the Sierra Madre in Rizal. The UCPB-CIIF Reforestation Site in Sitio Boso-Boso, which forms part of the Marikina Watershed, had been recognized as a model reforestation project by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 2007.
“With our support, I hope we continue promoting our advocacies to protect and conserve the environment,” Mr. Macadaeg said.
The foundation, which was represented by its chief operating officer Maria Belinda de la Paz and constituency and resource development manager Arlie Jo B. Endonila, currently works at restoring a portion of the Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal Protected Area in Nagcarlan, Laguna.
“We’re glad that UCPB is signing up to work with us as we continue our reforestation work in Laguna. We are currently working with different clusters throughout the country as we work toward restoring rainforests with an 80% average survival rate,” Ms. De la Paz said.
The Bank donated 500 seedlings to the foundation, which is gathering seedlings for the planting season that runs from June to December. It will also support the foundation in its education campaign on environment protection by disseminating information to UCPB associates and encouraging them to engage in environmental activities.