Former illegal loggers lead planting of 1k trees on Earth Day in Palawan

In a complete turn-around from their way of life, over 100 illegal loggers led the planting of 1,000 trees in Puerto Princesa,  Palawan during the observance of Earth Day 2019, on April 22.

Organized by the Yamang Bukid Farm, the tree planting event in Barangay Bacungan, Puerto Princesa saw 1,000 saplings of endemic species of trees planted in their assigned lots.

Hired by the YB Farm in exchange for turning their backs on illegal logging, the illegal loggers-turned-farmers will take care of the newly-planted tree saplings.

Local officials and some political leaders in the country and candidates for the coming May polls that visited the farm during the tree planting activity joined the farmers in planting the trees.

Dr. Jun Abalus (PhD), an Agro Forester who earned his doctoral degree at the University of the Philippines-Los Banos (UPLB), told GMANews Online that the group of former illegal loggers are now farming employees of Yamang Bukid Farm, a farm tourism destination accredited by the Department of Tourism (DoT).

Seedlings of native trees like Narra, Ipil and Palawan Cherry, locally known as "Balayong" were being readied at the farm's nursery before the Earth Day tree planting event.

The former illegal loggers abandoned their former illegal activities after they were given good employment opportunities by the management of the Yamang Bukid Farm.

Various Palawan-based Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) such as the Palawan Center for Appropriate Rural Technology (PCART) also joined the whole-day activity that began with a Eucharistic celebration. —LBG, GMA News