Pine tree festival guidelines mulled

Citing the mandate of the Environment Code of the City of Baguio which provides for a Pine Tree Festival Season and declaring the months of June, July, August and September as tree planting months City, Councilor Elaine Sembrano has authored a proposed ordinance that would establish the guidelines for the celebration of the Baguio City Pine Tree Festival.

In her proposal Councilor Sembrano pointed out that there is a need to come up with appropriate guidelines for the realization of the said mandate in accordance with the provisions of Article 33, Section 233 of Ordinance Numbered 18, series of 2016 otherwise known as the Environment Code of the City of Baguio.

Under the said proposed measure the Baguio City Pine Tree Festival shall be an institutionalized affair of the City Government in the effort to inculcate and enhance awareness to the public and appreciate the importance and relevance of pine trees to the environment as well as an endearing heritage of the city. The said festival shall be a week-long celebration beginning on the first week of the month of September each year and as part of the kick-off activities for the city’s Charter Month commemoration.

To effectively implement the said mandate the proposed ordinance likewise provides for the establishment of various committees tasked with overseeing the specific activities of the said festival. Included among the said committees to be created is the public information and education committee which shall be in charge with the promotion of the activity through the media, the pine tree planting committee which shall be in charge with the identification and assignment of sites where pine tree seedlings will be planted as well as prepare the planting materials and coordinate with concerned groups for the tree planting, the technical and evaluation committee which shall be tasked in evaluating parks and other ecological sites adopted or maintained by private entities or the government and formulate the criteria for certain competitions as may be approved by the pine tree festival committee and an arts and craft and cultural committee which shall be responsible in the conduct of an arts and craft competition to showcase the various uses of the pine needles, twigs and cones of pine trees.

Also a festival fair may be conducted in accordance with existing laws and ordinances, however, products for display, showcase or for sale but shall be limited to arts and crafts and items from waste or recyclable materials as certified by the Baguio City Solid Waste Management Board, and including services and innovations related to environmental protection, clean and renewable energy and other similar initiatives.

Finally, the proposal will also appropriate and earmark an amount of five million pesos under the Special Purpose Appropriations for the implementation of the said proposed activity.

Sideglance

Amianan Balita Ngayon