West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) planted a total of 95,700 trees in 2016 through its “Plant for Life” program—the company’s flagship initiative that aims to save the watersheds from denudation.
Last year, over 1,500 volunteers from Maynilad and its partner organizations planted a total of 70,700 indigenous trees over 58 hectares of the Ipo Watershed, as well as 25,000 mangrove propagules along the Manila Bay coastline in Cavite City, Bacoor City, and the municipalities of Noveleta and Kawit in Cavite Province.
To date, Maynilad has planted around 486,300 saplings—using indigenous trees like narra, cupang, acacia and alibangbang—in the Ipo Watershed since 2007. Moreover, a total of 112,000 mangrove propagules have already been planted in the Cavite coastal areas since 2013.
For 2017, the company aims to plant 60,000 trees in Ipo Watershed and 15,000 mangroves in Cavite to cover an additional land area of approximately 53 hectares.
“This year, we intend to expand the coverage of our ‘Plant for Life’ activity to the shorelines of Laguna Lake, where the presence of mangroves will help to provide sanctuary for aquatic fauna and improve the quality of water in the lake,” said Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez.
Maynilad’s “Plant for Life” program welcomes volunteers who wish to plant trees in these watershed areas. Interested parties may call the company’s Environmental Management Department at 981-3484 to inquire about the schedule and requirements.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base. It is the agent and contractor of the MWSS for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (certain portions), Quezon City (certain portions), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon all in Metro Manila; the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite Province.
PHOTO CAPTION: Miss Maynilad Water Warrior and Miss Earth Philippines 2016 finalist Jan Louise Abejero plants saplings at the Ipo watershed during Maynilad’s “Plant for Life” tree-planting activity.
