“Your sphere of influence will become wider, thus, a greater number of people will be surrounding you. I hope the power of your influence will be for the betterment of those working with and for you,” said DENR Regional Executive Director (RED) Gwendolyn Bambalan who administered the oathtaking of appointed employees held in Cauayan City, Isabela.

 

She added they should continue exemplifying excellence in their behavior at work not only on their respective skills and competencies.

 

The Director also encouraged the promoted employees to continue upscaling their capabilities to help them fulfill higher responsibility vested upon them.

 

“You should be exemplars of professionalism, integrity, and hardwork that we envision you to be,” added Assistant RED for Management Services Atty. Ismael Manaligod, chairperson of the Human Resource Merit, Promotion, and Selection Board.

 

Meanwhile, Director Bambalan commended the efforts of the Board for the success of the launch of full online recruitment and selection process which will be adopted and standardized as one of the administrative reforms in the region.#

Pursuant to DENR Regional Special Order Nos. 550 and 551, Engr. Zelda A. Vasquez was designated as In-charge of the PENRO Sub-Office, Cagayan and For. Minerva D. Paguigan was designated In-charge, Office of the CENR Officer, Solana.

In her message, Director Bambalan emphasized the need to develop a pool of secondliners trained to do the job to replace officials getting reassigned or retiring from service.

 

“No matter how good your leader is, without your cooperation, your heads of office will not be able to do the job well,” the regional environment chief added as she encouraged the personnel to show their support to their new leaders.

 

For. Paguigan and Engr. Vasquez thanked the management for the opportunity to serve and implement plans in their respective assignments.

 

The turnover and installation ceremony was witnessed by Assistant Regional Director for Management Services Atty. Ismael Manaligod, OIC, PENR Officer Engr. Eliseo D. Mabasa, and Chief, Management Services Division Mae G. Delos Santos. #

Student leaders from the provinces of Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya have committed to be advocates of a clean and healthy environment following their crafting of environmental action plans during the youth camp on Nov. 17-18, this year, in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya.

 

Focusing on solid waste and forest management programs, the young environment and natural resources (ENR) ambassadors will conduct activities on upcycling, waste collection and diversion, tree growing, cleanup drives, and environmental forum.

 

They also proposed income-generating projects and activities to promote wildlife protection and conservation.

These school and community-based projects were inspired by their eco-tour at the Consuelo Forest Park and Imugan Falls in Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya.

 

John Simeon, municipal environment and natural resources officer of Sta. Fe showcased the town's best practices on solid waste management wherein the collected wastes were diverted into organic fertilizer, vermi cast, and hollow blocks and bricks with pulverized glass.

 

Dubbed as 'Kampo Kabataan para sa Kalikasan', the youth camp held at Camp Aritao (DENR Ecological Park and Training Center) was conducted to highlight the celebration of National Environmental Awareness Month.

 

The ambassadors from Nueva Vizcaya State University, Philippine Science High School Cagayan Valley Campus, and Bintawan National High School in Nueva Vizcaya province; and Quirino State University and Saguday National High School in Quirino province were equipped with knowledge on forest protection and wildlife preservation. They were also trained on how to produce and publish photo stories about the environment.

 

DENR Strategic Communication and Initiatives Service Director Khalil Bayam underscored the critical roles of the youth in promoting climate resiliency and in ensuring a clean and healthy environment.

 

Engr. Giovannie Magat, PENR Officer of Nueva Vizcaya, appealed to the participants to be serious in protecting the environment. "We are banking on you to further protect the only home we have. Please help us campaign to stop illegal environmental activities," PENRO Magat said.

 

Meanwhile, DENR National Youth Desk Officer Agatha Zepeda presented the Department's initiatives and accomplishments in mobilizing the youth sector as environmental partners.

 

The campers and teachers planted Bignay seedlings at the arboretum of Aritao CENR Office.

A cultural night was also held to acknowledge and celebrate the ethnicity of some campers who are members of the Indigenous Peoples.

 

Pinas the Basura Buster, the icon of SWM campaign joined the campers to advocate proper waste segregation and disposal.

In 2020, the DENR Region 2 through its Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan partnered with student leaders from the different State Universities and Colleges in Cagayan Valley for IEC campaigns, social mobilization and partnership building activities.

 

Other activities held during the environmental youth camp were team building, search for the Kabataang Kampeon para sa Kalikasan, and banner and yell making.#

 

#TAK #ikawAkoTayoAngKalikasan #youthcamp

The assessment authorized by DENR Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan was in conformity of the issuance of Ecosystems Research and Development Technical Bulletin No. 01 s. 2021 known as "Whole-Ecosystem Carbon Stock and Sequestration Assessment".

 

It also aims to account the value of trees and forests as carbon sinks that help mitigate the worsening effects of climate change.

A study said forests are world’s largest carbon sinks. They absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and are stored in different repositories called carbon pools such as trees, root systems, and soil.

 

In a Workshop on Carbon Sequestration Data Analysis on Nov. 17-18, this year, held in Diffun, Quirino, PENR Officer Mariam Frances Malana stressed the need to be more vigilant in protecting the forest areas.

 

“Our natural resource conservation monitoring activity will now include the assessment of the amount of carbon stored in the different carbon pools,” said PENRO Malana.

 

During the workshop facilitated by the Conservation and Development Division, the regional and field NGP coordinators in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya presented their respective datasets collected in NGP pilot sites which were subjected for analysis using relevant statistical tools.

 

"This biological carbon sequestration aims to aid in effective and efficient ENR planning, policy formulation, and decision-making process toward climate resiliency," said regional conservation and development chief Enrique Pasion who led the team in capacitating the technical personnel in the computation and analysis of data.

 

Forester Pasion also emphasized the integrity of gathering data needed for analysis per major carbon pool in a forested system.

Considering the different steps of said assessment, the DENR is currently consolidating the amount of stored or sequestered tons of carbon per hectare within the selected NGP reforestation areas.#

The event participated in by heads of regulating and permitting sections in the DENR field offices is aimed at strengthening the utilization of water resources specifically in protecting rivers and watersheds as these serve as main water resource for domestic needs to include the bulk of water use in agriculture, industry and electricity purposes.

 

Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan of DENR earlier ordered to strengthen water regulation to properly manage and conserve water.

 

To complement with RA 11032 or Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, the webinar also aims to facilitate acceptance and processing of water permit in collaboration with deputized water agents (DWA) from the DENR, Department of Public Works and Highways and National Irrigation Administration.

 

The reorientation includes discussion in securing documentary requirements for Small Water Impounding Projects (SWIP) of DENR within the Community-Based Forest Management Project, Protected Areas, National Greening Program and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

 

LPDD Assistant Division Chief Zelda Vasquez who represented Division Chief Remedios Pauig discussed overview and update on application of water permit for government projects. She emphasized water as the most important natural resource, hence, its regulations must be strengthened.

 

With other resource persons Merlinda Taccad of LPDD; Jason Malamug and Penny John Cuaresma of Environmental Management Bureau Region 2; Jose Bueno of Conservation and Development Division; and Splendor Cuarteros of LPDD; the participants were apprised of Water Uses and Water Permit Application Requirements and Legal Fees; Process Steps on Securing Environmental Compliance Certificate and Certificate of Non-Coverage; Establishment of Small Water Impounding Structure (SWIS); and Additional Requirement for the Issuance of Water Permit for SWIP Projects.

 

Water Resource Utilization Section Chief Cuarteros reported a total of 173 water permit applications endorsed to the National Water Resources Board since the creation of WRUS in 2015 pursuant to NWRB Resolution No. 15-1116.#