COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Officials and workers of government agencies in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on Tuesday started planting trees on 300 of 600 hectares of Maguindanao’s denuded lands in long-term campaign designed by the ARMM leadership to address the “cycle of flooding” and at the same time provide residents’ of extra source of livelihood.

On request of ARMM Acting Governor Ansaruddin A. Adiong, the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) rallied the massive planting of mahogany and rubber trees in North Upi town with tons of rice supplies used as food-for-work for 300 resident-families allotted one hectare each to manage, organizing officials said.

The 300-hectare pilot area is located at Barangay Kibukay in North Upi town where 600-hectare denuded lands straddle along the peripheries of the Dimapatoy, a watershed area supplying potable water to more than 250,000 concessionaires in this city and three nearby Maguindanao towns.

Top officials of the ARMM’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) joined WFP Regional Director Kenro Oshidari, Deputy Country Director Asaka Nyangara and Country Director Stephen Anderson in the kick-off activities.

“This (massive tree planting) is a noble undertaking envisioned as a long-term approach to end the cycle of flooding, protect our critical watershed, and provide extra source of livelihood for our constituents,” Adiong said in a message read for him at the rites by DENR-ARMM Secretary Usman Sarangani.

Sarangani cited as “equally noble” the residents’ decision to stop cutting trees for commercial lumber and charcoal-making, and serve as tree-planters and environment protectors.

The ARMM and WFP officials assisted ceremonially the 300 residents in planting a portion of 191,000 pieces of rubber, fruit-bearing, coffee, and forest tree seedlings supplied by the regional autonomous government.

DSWD-ARMM Secretary Pombaen Karon-Kader and her social workers joined the tree planting activities, and arranged with the Barangay Kibukay residents a mechanism of distributing WFP’s food-for-work rice supplies at one bag per month for each planting family.

North Upi Mayor Ramon Piang assured the ARMM and WFP officials of his town government’s “full support” in sustaining the three-pronged project.

Anderson lauded the local community’s cooperation, saying the food-for-tree planting project “will be good for the food security and ecological balance” in the ARMM, particularly the towns in Maguindanao where flood incidents take place during heavy downpours.

In his spate statement, Oshidari said the of the food-for-tree planting project was conceived by the WFP as early as 2004 and has been officially linked up with the ARMM government through a memorandum of agreement signed by Adiong and the UN agency officialdom in 2010.

Brig. Gen. Rey Ardo, chief of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, sent elements of the military’s Task Force Bigkis Lahi (TFBL) and the 603rd Brigade to the kick-off activity, providing the security requirement of the tree planting project until its completion this year on the 600-hectare area.

Gen. Ardo also sustained the voluntary services of 800 soldiers, who started rallying last week hundreds of civilians in removing a huge chunk of water hyacinths that have been clogging the river way of the Delta Bridge here and forcing water to overflow to 33 of the 36 barangays in this city and 19 towns in Maguindanao.

Majority of the estimated 450 civilian volunteers are employees of ARMM government offices and agencies ordered by Acting Gov. Adiong to participate in the convergent operation against the continuing influx of water hyacinths from the overflowing Liguasan marsh.

Adiong conducted an ocular visit Monday at the heavily clogged bridge, and ordered the release this week of P2-million to augment the ARMM government’s earlier food assistance to soldiers and civilian volunteers.
Interviewed by resident-journalists, Adiong expressed elation over the scheduled visit in the flooded area Wednesday of national officials led by President Benigno Aquino III.