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Selected Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) partner-beneficiaries in Central Visayas region will be tapped for the tree replacement project in support to the National Greening Program (NGP) of the government.

DSWD-7 Regional Director Rebecca Geamala (leftmost) signs the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the tree replacement project together with DPWH-7 Regional Director Edgar Tabacon (center) and DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Paquito Melicor, Jr. (rightmost).

The tripartite agreement was signed on December 18, 2019 between the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the implementation of a five-year tree replacement project in the region.

Under the agreement, the DSWD-7 will facilitate the identification of 4Ps partner-beneficiaries based on the proximity to the project areas.

The list of the identified 4Ps partner-beneficiaries will be forwarded to DENR accredited People’s Organizations (POs) for possible membership and/or employment.

The DPWH will allocate and transfer funds directly to the concerned DENR 7’s Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO). The funds shall defray the entire cost of the project including the procurement of materials, site preparation, plantation protection and maintenance.

Meanwhile, the DENR will identify suitable planting or replanting sites that can accommodate the total number of trees for replacement and will ensure that the tree species recommended for planting in specific project sites conforms on the livelihood of micro-enterprises to be proposed for the project participants. Typhoon-affected coastal areas shall also be identified for the mangrove rehabilitation component of the program.

DENR will also capacitate the POs and the 4Ps partner-beneficiaries in the planting or replanting of the seedlings.

“This tripartite agreement between the three national government agencies is a good collaboration in pushing forward the greening efforts of the government and at the same time helping our 4Ps partner-beneficiaries to gain additional income,” said DSWD-7 Regional Director Rebecca Geamala during the MOA signing held in DENR-7 regional office in Sudlon, Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.

Once the project participants are identified, the social preparation will start including skills inventory, community organization, capacity building and project orientation. ###

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