Globe, NGO extend assistance to National Greening Program

Manila, Philippines -  Telecommunications giant Globe Telecom Inc. is joining forces with a non-government organization to help in monitoring and meeting the target of planting 1.5 billion trees under the National Greening Program through the use of mobile technology.

Under the Memorandum of Agreement signed by Globe and the Foundation for Philippine Environment (FPE), the Globe Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team shall provide information and communications technology (ICT) support to FPE to enable the quick registration of the seedlings as well as allow ease of payment between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the participating peoples organizations and assisting non-government organizations (NGOs).

Roberto Nazal, Globe CSR head, said, “Monitoring and evaluation of the whole effort will be enabled through Globe donation of mobile phones, Globe Bridging Communities SIM cards with special discounted rates and the provision of a P5,000-monthly Text Connect facility for efficient and real-time monitoring of production, planning and maintenance progress.”

Globe will donate mobile phones and SIM cards to 380 indigenous people organizations, peoples organizations, and NGOs as well as to 88 assisting NGOs and stakeholders in 51 provinces and 168 municipalities and cities engaged by FPE for NGP.

“One of the pillars of Globe Bridging Communities is iConserve where we show active corporate citizenship in the protection, rehabilitation, and conservation of critical environmental areas in the Philippines just like what NGP is doing to mitigate the destruction of the country’s natural resources. So through this partnership, we hope to provide the critical enabling technologies to help FPE see through its support mandate to the implementing community-based partners and local stakeholders,” Nazal said.

Meanwhile, FPE chief executive officer Danny Valenzuela said, “We are glad to be working with Globe Telecom in seeing through our commitment to help our network of NGOs towards contributing to the NGP. ICT, particularly mobile technology which Globe is offering, is a critical tool for the indigenous peoples organizations to be actively engaged, for service payment and advisory support to be efficient, and for the program’s over-all monitoring, reporting and evaluation systems to happen in real time.”

Globe also committed to provide free Internet connection, allow use of laptops, and give free calls during critical project activities participated in by the organizations involved in NGP.

The signing was held at the DENR central office in Quezon City. It was witnessed by DENR assistant secretary for special projects Marlo Mendoza.

The NGP, the convergence initiative led by the DENR along with the agriculture and agrarian reform departments, intends to increase sustainable supply of crops and forest-based raw materials to meet national needs.

Earlier, DENR Secretary Ramon Paje asked the Commission on Audit to audit the 1.5 billion tree seedlings that would be produced and planted in 1.5 million hectares under the NGP between 2011 up to 2016.