I heard a lot of beautiful things about Las Piñas -Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA). This one of the places in metro manila wherein you can see different species of birds like Purple Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Chinese Egret, White-browed Crake, Pacific Swallow, Striated Grassbird and more!
Good thing to know there are groups, organizations and individuals who protect and preserve the beauty of LPPCHEA.
Villar Foundation, one of the organizations with a commitment in protecting and preserving environment, conducted array of activities in celebration of ‘Month of the Ocean’. One of their programs is to have coastal clean-up and mangrove planting at LPPCHEA off Manila Bay area.
“We always take every opportunity to encourage people and organizations, especially the youth, to get involved in efforts to do something for the environment. We have year-round activities and project, to ensure that our efforts will really make a difference. Events, such as Earth Day and Month of the Ocean, provide momentum to what we have been doing for years,” said former Las Piñas Representative Villar.
The ‘Month of the Ocean’ activities of the Villar Foundation was partnered with Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, Alliance for Stewardship and Authentic Progress (ASAP), and the DENR – NCR Regional Office.
The event was joined by Villar Foundation’s Managing Director Cynthia Villar and its volunteers and supporters as well with Students, youth volunteers, environmentalists, birdwatchers and the residents of various nearby communities spent a Sunday-filled of activities such as mangroves-planting, boating, birdwatching, nature walk, stargazing among others at the scenic LPPCHEA.
According to Cynthia, they will do regular weekly clean-ups at the LPPCHEA together with volunteers, many of whom are students from Las Piñas -based schools.
The Supreme Court recently a ‘writ of kalikasan’ on the planned reclamation of the 635.14-hectare LPPCHEA, in response to the petition filed by Villar and signed by 315,849 residents representing more than 1.5 million dwellers in the cities of Las Piñas and Parañaque and the municipality of Bacoor.
The Villar Foundation’s event was also supported by the Philippine Native Plant Conservation Society, Philippine Red Cross – Las Piñas Subchapter, Youth Group of the Diocese of Parañaque, Save the Freedom Island Movement and various other organizations from Las Piñas and Parañaque.
The month of May has been declared as the “Month of the Ocean” in the Philippines through the Presidential Proclamation No. 57. Section 2 of the Proclamation states that the DENR and the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) shall spearhead the observance of the Month of the Ocean (MOO) in collaboration with the different sectors of society through the conduct of activities that shall highlight the conservation, protection and sustainable management of Philippine coastal and ocean resources.
This year’s Month of the Ocean theme: “Buhay Dagat, Buhay Natin!” is in conjunction with the observance of the International Day of Biological Diversity (IDBD) on May 22 and its theme of Marine Biodiversity.
For more details about the other advocacies and activities of the Villar Foundation, please visit its website: www.villarfoundation.org
