OVP launches program aimed at providing 1M school bags, planting trees

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Saturday launched a program that aims to provide one million bags containing school supplies and plant one million trees in several areas of the country.
 
Vice President Sara Duterte led the launching of “PagbaBAGo: A Million Learners and Trees” at the Mandaue City Sports Complex.
 
The OVP said the initiative intends to provide students with one million bags containing school supplies and dental kits, plant one million trees for environmental sustainability, and promote family planning among parents.

“We hope that in the six years while we are in the Office of the Vice President, the campaign will reach one million children and one million parents,” Duterte said.

“It is very important that we take care of our environment now for the benefit of the next generation,” she added.

Duterte also reminded parents of their responsibility to ensure that their children get the education that they need and are protected from criminality, drugs, insurgency, and terrorism that may destroy their dreams and future.
 
According to the OVP, the program aims to instill the importance of basic education in Filipino children and encourage them to take advantage of its power to change lives. 

It said that the program was inspired by Duterte’s advocacy when she was still Davao City mayor in 2016.
 
Meanwhile, the OVP has partnered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Education (DepEd) in the implementation of the campaign.
 
On Saturday, a total of 1,000 students in Grades 1 and 4 in Cebu, Isabela, Dagupan, and Zamboanga were given the Pagbabago backpacks, as well as 1,019 students in Bacolod and 1,009 in Surigao.
 
The program provided 1,015 backpacks to students in Tacloban, 1,008 in the Bicol Region, 1,002 in Davao, and 1,006 in BARMM.

A tree-planting activity was also conducted from each OVP satellite office, including the Public Assistance Division Extension Office in Lipa, Batangas. — VBL, GMA Integrated News