PIA Press Release
2008/03/13
by T. Villavert
Iloilo City (13 March) -- "Growing the economy, must stand alongside the protection of the environment," said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as she emphasized that "from our newly-approved budget that is allocating the biggest chunk to social services, we have put aside P5 Billion for conservation activities from the DENR's P8 billion total budget.
President Arroyo stressed the need to beautify our villages and cities and rid them of trash; build more urban parks and recreation areas; purify our water and clean up industrial sites that are both unhealthy and aesthetically unpleasant.
During her speech at the launching of the Giant Turtle Conservation Program, President Arroyo said that this year's national budget invests in the three "Es": economy, education and environment.
During the said program, the President four focused programs under Environment which are: Conservation; Energy independence; reforestation; and the protection of our national parks and wildlife refuges.
"We need to tap alternative indigenous sources of power and energy, and we put a premium on green and renewable energy. We are veering away from imported fossil fuels whose prices are not only sky high, but also highly volatile. Our budget gives P274.16 million to support the DENRs efforts on energy resource development and utilization and conservation activities. The PNOC has its own billion of corporate funds for the development of New and Renewable Energy sources even as we work harder to convince investors to venture into the promising areas of solar, wind, geothermal and biofuel energy.
On reforestation, the president said, "we will recover our lost forest through massive tree planting with the help of communities. The DENR budget sets aside P300 million for reforestation. We have also convinced several countries like New Zealand to give their grants as reforestation projects".
"The protection of our national parks and wildlife refuges is also high in our priority. We want to turn our coral reefs and beaches, the rice terraces- our contribution to the wonders of the world- as well as our mountain vistas and tropical forests into national parks and international sanctuaries for eco-tourism and scientific research. P240 million will be spent for protected areas, apart from what they can raise as gate receipts from holidaymakers. There are specific provisions for wildlife sanctuaries, including P5 million for the Pawikan Conservation Project," the President said. (PIA)
