Didn’t have time to post about this yesterday so I’ll just do a quick summary and throw in some of my $0.02 worth of opinion for these events that happened that I think will have an impact on the “Greening” of the Philippines.
- World Bank Issues a $57 M loan to the Philippines for Environmental Projects - Great! $7 Million of that is a grant from their Global Environment Facility. Would have been great if the entire $57 Mil was a grant… but hey beggars can’t be choosers. Last year I was talking to somebody who’s been around for a while and he said that all projects which have to do with planting are one of the easiest to steal money from. I asked him how he could say that? Because you could always say that the plants died after planting them without actually having planted any. Words of wisdom from an old and wizened farm hand.
- Mountaineering Federation of the Philippines (MFP) has a Tree for Life Planting Campaign - A noble act to re plant the trees around Philippine Watersheds. This joint project with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Green Army Foundation is to plant 20 million trees across the country between July and November. Armed with a network of 30,000 Mountaineers they are focusing on Philippine Watersheds because they are said to be in a critical state. MFPI website can be found here.
- Medical Certificates for Absent Congressmen - Majority Floor Leader Arthur Defensor said that there were talks of requiring absent Congressmen to submit a medical certificate to justify their absence during hearings. But Deputy Minority Floor Leader Satur Ocampo expressed concerns that it could be abused. Hopefully with measures like these in place the decade long stalled Renewable Energy Bill will get passed in both Legislative Houses so that we can start seeing cheaper electric bills in the next decade.
- Philippine President Praises PNOC-AFC’s Jatropha Model Farm in Northern Mindanao - So if people are looking for a Government sponsored model farm to view and learn how to grow Jatropha Curcas for Biofuel production contact PNOC-AFC or just drop by their model farm in Talakag, Bukidnon. And yes, contrary to what the press is reporting right now about Mindanao, Northern Mindanao is safe to visit.
