One of the biggest producers of bangus fry planted 5,000 mangroves in Sarangani Bay as its contribution to the International Coastal Clean-up Month.
Hundreds of volunteers converged at Barangay Poblacion in Malapatan, Sarangani to clean up the bay and plant 1,000 seedlings, spearheaded by the Mindanao-based Alcantara Group.
Alcantara Group is engaged in aquaculture and agribusiness in Sarangani, power generation and power plant management in Sarangani and Zamboanga, and property development and services in other regions.
It has been an active player in the economic development of Mindanao and other regions for over 50 years.
Officers and personnel of different companies under the Alcantara Group participated in the activity along with employees of the Sarangani provincial government, barangay officials, teachers and personnel of the Department of Education , Department of the Interior and Local Government, 73rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, the Malapatan Police Station and social welfare beneficiaries.
Executives from the Conrado and Ladislawa Alcantara Foundation, Inc. (CLAFI), the Alcantara Group’s corporate social responsibility arm, directed the planting and clean-up effort.
“Today, we are going to plant 1,000 mangrove seedlings. This activity is our contribution to the international coastal clean-up celebration and this is also part of the commitment of the Alcantara Group of Companies to plant 50,000 mangroves all around Sarangani Bay from 2011 to 2013,” said CLAFI executive director Richlie Lyndon Magtulis.
“We are doing this because we are dependent on Sarangani Bay for our businesses. For almost 50 years, the Agri-Business Unit of the Alcantara Group has been relying on Sarangani Bay, so in return, we would like to preserve and protect the bay not only for our benefit but for the benefit of the people in Sarangani as well,”Magtulis added.
“Since we are celebrating international coastal clean-up month, let’s manage our waste and start cleaning our bay,” said provincial environment employee Jopy Caneda during his briefing on mangroves and solid waste management. “In Sarangani, there are 27 different species of mangroves out of the 54 endemic to the whole country,” Caneda added.
