Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

Rizal 4th district Rep. Fidel Nograles is prodding the Department of Education (DepEd) to consider turning its recent holiday season-themed tree-planting program into a regular activity. 

This, as the solon hailed DepEd for leading the charge in the planting of nearly two million trees. 

“The success of the ‘236,000 Christmas Trees’ program points the way to how we can involve our institutions in efforts to restore our country’s greenery. That it has exceeded its target exponentially shows that there are many Filipinos who are eager to do their part to help,” Nograles said in a statement on Thursday, Jan. 4. 

“We can consider such activities as learning opportunities for our youth, as we emphasize the role that fulfilling their civic duty can play in helping save the country from the effects of the climate crisis,” he said. 

In a memorandum order dated Nov. 17 of last year, Education Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte ordered all 47,678 public schools to plant at least five trees within school grounds or any available public spaces near schools. 

Duterte previously noted that the initiative “aims to promote environmental preservation and instill environmental responsibility among Filipino children”. 

According to DepEd, more than 1.9 million trees have been planted across all regions, which overwhelmingly surpassed the initial target of 236,000. 

Students and teachers in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) alone planted about 1.1 million trees.