REVILLA PUSHES JOB CREATION VIA ECO-TOURISM

In a bid to boost job creation in the country through eco-tourism, Senator Bong Revilla pressed for the protection and rehabilitation of mangrove forests nationwide.

In his message during the program for the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the Philippine Independence Park Cum EcoTourism and Mangrove Rehabilitation Project held recently in Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite , Revilla said ecological and economic gains can both be derived from the proper management and restoration of mangroves.

"Unang-una, ang mga bakawan ay lumilikha ng kanyang sariling environment. Kumbaga, gumagawa siya ng kanyang sariling barangay na tinitirhan ng mga isda, crustaceans, ibon at iba pa. Because of the uniqueness of the mangrove ecosystems and their protection against erosion, they are often the object of conservation programs in different countries," he said.

Revilla stressed that planting and sustainable utilization of mangroves can help ease the problem of unemployment in the country. He pointed out that mangrove is considered as an important source of livelihood for about 70% of the country's municipalities.

"Mangroves can help create job through direct utilization such as the collection of fruit and tapping for sugar. It is also an important and potentially sustainable source of fuelwood and charcoal. Interest has also arisen in species like Nypa palm, which produces alcohol that can be turned into transport fuel. Mangroves also provide indirect employment through eco-tours and fishing,"the lawmaker explained.

The senator cited reports of the environmental watchdog International Union Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that says that the Philippines has lose its mangrove forests up to 80 percent.

According to the IUCN, Philippines is home to about half the world's mangrove species. However, despite Philippine laws that since 1975 have banned mangrove clearing, enforcement has been virtually absent, and mangrove destruction still occurs widely.

"Studies also bared that there is a constant depletion of our mangrove forests from the mid-70's up to recent years at the annual rate of 5,553 hectares. From the estimated 400,000 to 500,000 hectares of mangrove forest in 1920, it went down to 139,100 hectares in 1988. We must do something about it," Revilla said.

Under the MOA for the Philippine Independence Park Cum Eco-Tourism and Mangrove Rehabilitation Project, Revilla, together with his LGU co-implementors, vowed to provide financial support for the planting of mangroves along the riverbanks as well as the developing of the extension of the Freedom Park in the historical Aguinaldo Shrine.

The Aguinaldo Shrine is the ancestral home of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Republic of the Philippines . Philippine independence from Spain was proclaimed from a window of the Aguinaldo ancestral home on June 12, 1898. Since then, the Philippine flag is raised here by top national officials every Independence Day (June 12) to commemorate the event.

"Truly, there is a need to have a firm and strong foundation in pursuing this project and turning this area into a showcase of ecotourism that is centered in the rehabilitation of mangrove and its market, financial and economic prospects," Revilla said.