Senate bill seeks one tree planted for every child born in PHL

One tree will be planted for every child that is born in the Philippines, if Senator Manuel Villar's bill is passed into law. Senate Bill 2725 or "A Tree for Every Child Act" seeks to require the parents or legal guardians to plant a tree for every child that is born in the country. "This measure aims to protect our patrimony and to ensure that the future generation will still have a beautiful green Philippines to live in," Villar said in his explanatory note. According to the measure, local government units where tree planting activities are conducted shall be mandated to issue a certification that a tree was planted in behalf of a certain child. It says that the certification shall become a requirement for any child's admission to school. Moreover, it says that any person or LGU who shall issue a false certification shall be fined with P3,000 to P5,000. Likewise, schools who fail to require such certifications upon admission shall be fined with P3,000 on the first offense, P5,000 on the second, and revocation of license to operate on succeeding instances. SB 2725 says that violation of any of its provisions shall also subject the government official or employee concerned to "appropriate" administrative, civil and/or criminal sanctions, including suspension and/or dismissal from the government service and forfeiture of benefits. Villar said that 200 Filipinos are born every hour or roughly 1.75 million Filipinos yearly. On the other hand, three to six billion trees are reportedly felled every year. "Considering the exponential increase in the Philippine population and the continuous felling of trees to supply the demand of the economy, there will come a time that the person to tree ratio will be reduced to nil," he said. — LBG, GMA News