GMA seeks culture of ‘green’ in RP

President Arroyo called yesterday for massive tree planting all over the country to replace the trees uprooted by Typhoon "Milenyo" last Sept. 28.

"We must replenish fallen trees as many of them fell during the last typhoon," Mrs. Arroyo said.

The President also said she wants the Philippines to become a model of "environmental stewardship" within 10 years.

The government will serve a notice to the country’s producers that they should shift to green production or be left out, she said.

Mrs. Arroyo made the call in her speech at the opening of the Eco-labeling Workshop and GP3 (Green Productivity, Green Purchasing, Green Philippines) Conference-Workshop and Exhibit at the Dusit Hotel Nikko in Makati City yesterday morning.

The event also coincided with the 11th anniversary of the Clean and Green Foundation, a non-government organization led by former First Lady Amelita Ramos, which encouraged the eco-friendly production of laundry detergents, household batteries, tissue paper, automotive engine oil, crayons, cement and fire extinguishers.

GP3 aims to impart to the people global trends and practices on green productivity and green purchasing to achieve a "green" Philippines. It also proposes to define the roles and commitments of different stakeholders such as governments, industries and the consumers towards a sustainable society.

Mrs. Arroyo said she is taking the lead in pushing manufacturing companies to produce more eco-friendly goods and products to prevent the destruction and complete depletion of the country’s remaining precious resources.

In fact, one of the very first Republic Acts she signed into law when she assumed office was RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

The law mandates the Department of Trade and Industry to "formulate and implement a coding system for packaging materials and products to facilitate waste recycling and re-use."

From RA 9003 came the Green Choice Philippines (GCP), the national eco-labeling program of the Philippines that aims to change people’s behavioral patterns in consumption and production that tend to misuse, abuse and degrade the country’s natural resources.

The GCP logo can be found on labels of products that were determined by the group to be eco-friendly and thus, serve as endorsement to consumers to patronize the product.

Likewise, the endorsement of Executive Order No. 301 or "Establishing a Green Procurement Program for All Departments, Bureaus, Offices and Agencies of the Executive Branch of Government," mandates the national eco-labeling program to develop guidelines and procedures in identifying and developing standards for environmentally preferred products and services commonly used by the government.

EO 301 mandated all government offices to patronize environment-friendly products.

"We did this clean move to give impetus to an active practice of green productivity among manufacturers and green procurement by institutional buyers, and the biggest institutional buyer, of course, is the government," Mrs. Arroyo said.

The President called on the people to patronize products that are eco-friendly and to help "bring about a Green Philippines that will be our ultimate profit and price for the benefit of the rising generation of Filipinos." — Aurea Calica