Isuzu joins effort to save beauty of world-famous Hundred Islands

ALAMINOS CITY— Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) joined hands with the local government here to preserve the beauty of the world-famous Hundred Islands and to protect the environment through the company’s "Save our Mangroves" project.

IPC president Yoshifumi Komura led officials and employees of his company during their ninth anniversary celebration by sponsoring an environmental project last July 31 in this city dubbed "Adopt a Mangrove Park."

Komura said this is a way to show that the company that began producing vehicles in the country in 1996 is a responsible partner of the community in the Philippines.

"(Here) we develop more than tourism but also natural resources," he said.

The activity is aimed at helping the city preserve its vast marine ecosystem and major contribution to the community and environment.

Thousands of mangrove seedlings donated by IPC will be planted at a five-hectare mangrove park in Barangay Sabangan, overlooking the Hundred Islands National Park here. These seedlings come from the city’s nurseries grown by fisherfolks’ association as part of their livelihood program.

Isuzu Philippines celebrates every year its anniversary by performing good deeds for society, Komura said. Last year, the company donated narra seedlings and planted them in a protected tree-reserve in Quezon province.

Last February, the company joined hands with its parent company Isuzu Motors Limited of Japan and its Philippine subsidiary Isuzu Auto Parts Manufacturing Corp. to help the victims of the tragic landslide that devastated St. Bernard town in Leyte.

Komura said mangroves are important because they maintain the health of local ecosytems. He added that mangroves are especially important to preserve the health and beauty of the Hundred Islands in this city.

In a separate interview, Mayor Hernani Braganza said IPC adopted five of the remaining 24 hectares that are still to be reforested with mangroves. About half a million pesos is spent here considering that it costs about a hundred thousand pesos to plant a hectare, the mayor said.

"Did you know that for every hectare of reforested mangrove is equivalent to one ton of fish?" Braganza said.

Mangrove parks in 10 coastal barangays here are becoming the home of migratory birds too, which indicates that blast fishing is gone, the mayor said.

Originally, there were about 600 hectares of mangrove areas here but only about 70 to 100 hectares can be recovered because others were converted to fishponds.

In the past two years, the local government together with volunteer groups from Eco-rescue as well as hired mangrove caretakers are doing the replanting.

IPC also donated environmental signage to be installed at three of the major islands, namely the Governor’s, Children’s and Quezon’s to remind local and foreign tourists as well as fisherfolks and barangay officials of their responsibility in keeping the environment clean and green.

The city’s efforts in reforesting mangroves has earned for it awards in environmental protection.

Braganza said they intend to finish replanting mangroves in the remaining hectares by this year. He said IPC is the first company that helped them in this endeavor.