BORONGAN CITY-Employees from the Department of Public Works and Highways – Eastern Samar District Engineering Office (DPWH-ESDEO) with District Engineer Ma. Margarita C. Junia planted more than 500 trees in the kick-off of the tree replacement program conducted along the roadside of Taft-Borongan Road on March 22, 2023.
According to DE Junia, the district office needs to plant 315,100 trees in replacement of the 3,151 trees affected by the slope protection rock fall netting project along Wright-Taft Road.
The said activity complies with the tree-cutting permit issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) which in every one cut tree, the implementing office is directed to replace it by planting 100 seedlings.
“We will be busy this year implementing this tree replacement program. In fact, we already had a total of 14,000 saplings of native trees in our nursery which are ready for the tree planting program,” said DE Junia.
DE Junia also disclosed that the office is coordinating with the DENR and other government agencies such as Local Government Unit of Salcedo for a site for the tree planting activity.
“With the voluminous requirements of trees to be planted, we are also coordinating the local barangay officials in Taft who will help us in the supply of more seedlings. They will be of great help in this tree replacement program and at the same time, this will provide them an additional source of income,” added DE Junia.
She also said that the tree planting activity will continue to be implemented starting this month to plant trees along the roadside from Taft to Arteche and to forest lands to be identified by the DENR.
Aside from the kick-off of the tree replacement program, the recently conducted tree planting activity also supported the third week celebration of the International Women’s Month in which most of the participants wore purple shirts, which is the international color of women and gender equality.(MAY ANTOINETTE O. NABLE, PIO STAFF)
