Oasis at 1,500MASL First Police ‘Green Camp’ In Mt. Apo Natural Park!

First, the bad news.

Vegetable farming in Kapatagan, Digos City has crept into the protected zone of the Mt. Apo Natural Park destroying the centuries old forests and tilling areas with 45 degrees slope causing soil erosion.

I will write about this later because I do not want to spoil your New Year with a very depressing story.

Now, here’s the good news.

In the midst of the bald base area of Mt. Apo, a Police General concerned with the environment, Brig. Gen. Filmore Escobal, is starting the transformation of a 100-hectare area police training center into a “Green Camp” planted into the indigenous trees species, Tinikaran, pine tree, high-elevation adapted EVIARC Sweet Jackfruit and Giant Bamboo to serve as windbreakers.

Yesterday, I joined Gen. Escobal and other police officers of the PNP Davao Regional Command in a ceremonial planting of the 1,000 Giant Bamboo large planting materials and 100 Abuyog Jackfruit which I donated.

Realizing the need to support Gen. Escobal’s vision of turning the camp into the first Environment-Friendly training facility, I pledged to donate 4,000 more Giant Bamboos, 900 more Jackfruit seedlings.

I also pledged to source additional seedlings of the native Tinikaran trees and Pine Trees which thrive well in the area and a hand-held motor-driven driller to fasttrack the planting of the seedlings.

It was I who actually suggested that the training facility be called the “Green Police Camp” to serve as a model for the Kapatagan community for sustainable agro-forestry in high elevations.

The Mindanao Regional Training Camp conducts specialization training for active and regular policemen numbering about 200 per batch and staying in the camp for as long as six months.

Gen. Escobal’s Green Police Camp deserves to be replicated in other police and military camps all over the country and I am willing to support through my Green Philippines Advocacy.

#KungGustoMaramingParaan!

#goodmountaingoodwatergoodlife!

#letsmakephilippinesgreenagain!

#letsprotectourmountains!

(Photos were taken by the media team of the Green Philippines Advocacy.)