Police personnel and community stakeholders in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) planted around 35,000 tree seedlings on Tuesday in a massive tree-planting activity in different parts of the region.

Brig. Gen. Michael John Dubria, director of the Police Regional Office-12, said Wednesday the activity is part of their continuing enhanced community engagement program, which is being conducted in partnership with local government units (LGUs) and concerned agencies.

He said all police units in the region’s four provinces and four cities took part in the simultaneous tree planting in selected sites within their areas of responsibility.

In this city, the Regional Mobile Force Battalion-12 and the city police office conducted the activity at a portion of Sitio Asfang in Barangay San Jose.

“We were able to acquire around PHP1.75 million worth of seedlings through donations from our partners,” Dubria told reporters.

He said the seedlings comprised indigenous trees like lauan and narra, as well as various fruit-bearing and plantation trees like guyabano and coffee.

The tree-planting sites were chosen through recommendations from LGUs and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

These included areas under the government’s Enhanced National Greening Program and indigenous peoples’ communities covered by convergence initiatives under Executive Order 70 of President Rodrigo Duterte.

EO 70 sets the implementation of the “whole-of-nation” strategy to “end local communist armed conflict.”

Dubria said the trees planted in these areas, which are previously influenced by the communist terrorist New People’s Army, were intended to help provide livelihood to residents.

“This is just the start. We’re planning to plant more trees and engage with people in these communities in the coming months,” he said. (PNA)