News

FPE and Globe Turned Over Mobile Phones to Communities in Davao

Posted on September 9, 2014

This activity, which was held last September 4, 2014, aims to sustain the gains initiated by the Up-Scaling Forest Restoration project of FPE, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to protect critical forests across the country.

“Globe Telecom has generously donated these equipment to beef up the communications capability of forest guards. Through these mobile phones and with Globe Telecom's strong reach, the Bantay Bukid will be able to promptly and accurately report the information required to help protect the Panigan-Tamugan watersheds,” said FPE Executive Director Godofredo T. Villapando, Jr.

In conjuction, the Director of Globe’s Corporate Social Responsibility programs, Fernando Esquerra said, “Globe is happy to provide the critical enabling technologies to help FPE see through its support mandate to the implementing community-based partners and local stakeholders, to ensure that we are able to protect our biodiversity through our core strength which is information and communications technology.” 

Bagobo tribal leader and member of the Bantay Bukid volunteer group, Stephen Matondo, thanked FPE and Globe in behalf of his community.

“We used to think that protecting our mountains and our wildlife is a lonely and difficult task. But we are glad that lowlanders now recognize the importance of our forests by supporting us through this donation, ” Matondo said. He added that the cellphones will go a long way in helping the community volunteers monitor and protect the trees and animals found in the watersheds.

Matondo is also confident that the mobile phones will allow them to file field reports directly to the Davao City’s Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO), which is the head agency of the Watershed Multipartite Monitoring Team (WMMT). The WMMT will use the information gathered from the volunteers as basis for their monthly report to the WMC.

The Panigan-Tamugan Watersheds are home to a number of threatened endemic species of flora and fauna. The FPE-USAID partnership had also funded a resource assessment of the area which revealed, among others, that at least 40% of the country’s endemic avian population is found thriving in this critical area. The watersheds are currently threatened by deforestation brought about by illegal logging and expansion of agricultural plantations.

Group photo of forest guard volunteers with FPE Mindanao Regional Unit Manager Armando Pacudan (1st row, 5th from right), FPE NGP Officer Marjorie Marasigan (1st row, 4th from right), Globe CSR Head Fernando Esguerra (1st row, leftmost), IDIS Executive Director Ann Fuertes (2nd row, 1st from right), Watershed Multi-partite Monitoring Team Head Engr. Elisa Madrazo (1st row, 3rd from left), and Cebuana Lhulier Insurance Solutions Head Elisa Dinglasa (1st row, 2nd from left).