Rotarians spread joy in Olango

Singapore-based members of the Rotary and Rotaract Club visited Olango Island last December 14, 2007. The team was led by Mr. Philip Tan, Chair of the Rotary Club Cebu West and Member of the PBSP Visayas Executive Committee.

The trip to Olango was part of the Rotarians exposure to various Metro Cebu communities. They provided school supplies to the pupils of Candagsao Elementary School. They also planted mangroves in San Vicente.

Olango Island is one of the three priority ecosystems of PBSP’s Metropolitan Cebu Area Resource Management Program. The other two focus areas are the Cebu Hillylands and the highly urbanized communities in Metro Cebu. PBSP’s agenda in Olango are environmental rehabilitation, access to basic services such as health and water, and economic empowerment of the fisher folks.

PBSP partners with PEZA for the Buhisan watershed rehabilitation

PBSP sealed an agreement with the Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA) for the Buhisan Watershed Integrated Development Program on December 7, 2007. The other parties of the engagement are the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water (CUSW) and Visayas Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Business and Environment Cluster led by Lexmark International Philippines.

Buhisan is one of the five watersheds within the Central Cebu Protected Landscape. It is one of MCWD’s major water sources. MCWD, in turn, supplies half of Metro Cebu’s household and industrial water requirement.

Buhisan was identified as a priority site of the Business and Environment cluster because of its prime importance to Metro Cebu’s development. The Buhisan Watershed Integrated Development Program aims to revitalize the degraded watershed through conservation and education or advocacy campaigns.

Specifically, the program focuses on: ecology and biodiversity conservation; economic empowerment of the families living in Buhisan; health and sanitation; ecological governance and law enforcement; eco-cultural tourism development; and information, communication and education.

The MDG is a covenant ratified by 189 member states of the United Nations (UN) to eliminate poverty and worst forms of human deprivation in 2015. PBSP, as the UN and the Philippine government’s partner, is tasked to rollout the MDG among the members of the private sector. PBSP created four Business and the MDG clusters so that private sector response is more strategic. These are the Business and Poverty, Business and Health, Business and Education, and Business and Environment.