TARLAC CITY — Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Tarlac Police Provincial Office partnered in forest protection and greening program.
Under the agreement, DENR will work with the 10 Municipal Police Stations (MPS) in the 1stcongressional district and the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company in protecting and developing the established forest plantations under the National Greening Program (NGP).
Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Celia Esteban said the police committed to protect and develop some 20 hectares NGP plantations found in Sitio Canding and Sitio Libag in Barangay Maasin of San Clemente town.
“After three years, the established NGP plantations have no more funds for protection and maintenance and this is where the police will enter to adopt these areas which were established by our partner people’s organizations,” Esteban explained.
MPS shall also act as the overall project manager and shall take charge in the mobilization of personnel prioritizing in hiring the people’s organizations within the area.
Moreover, they will be responsible in the funding of survey, mapping and planning, produce seedlings for replanting, maintenance and protection of the adopted plantation.
DENR, on the other hand, shall provide them technical assistance in relation to the project.
Camiling MPS Chief PLtCol. Jovy Arceo conveyed the police’s eagerness in the project.
“Rest assured, we will protect and develop these plantations to increase forest cover in the province,” Arceo affirmed.
This initiative is also in line with Philippine National Police’s Kaligtasan at Kalikasan program.
Since 2011, DENR has already established more than 122,000 hectares of forest plantations within degraded watersheds and forestlands in Central Luzon.