Soldiers join civilians in planting "peace trees" in Maguindanao, 9 August 2014. DENNIS ARCON
About 3,000 mahogany seedlings were planted in the mountains of Maguindanao Saturday on the occasion of World Indigenous People’s Day.
Carrying their high-powered firearms, soldiers and policemen went up the mountains not to wage war, but to plant trees.
Aside from the military and the police, Moro National Liberation Front chairman and three-term Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema also participated in the activity.
This is a sign of solidarity in the pursuit of peace, said Sema, calling the trees “trees of peace.”
The tree-planting project aims to help the environment and care for the Dimapatoy Watershed in Datu Odin Sinsuat, a water source of Cotabato City and nearby towns, said 6th Infantry Division Commanding General Edmund Pangilinan, who led the activity last Saturday.
This is also to show that the country’s security forces value the forests, which are normally devastated during armed conflicts, he said.
Other participants included the organizations that respond first during floods and other disasters in the city and in the province, including ARMM HEART.
Indigenous peoples, students, lawyers, and employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao also planted trees.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/93069/3000-trees-of-peace-planted-during-world-indigenous-peoples-day-in-maguindanao
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