All is set for this year’s Feast of the Forest known as the “Pista Y Ang Cagueban” (PYAC) in Sitio Impapay, Barangay Irawan on June 29, 2019.
The activity is the city’s largest annual tree-planting event participated by people from all walks of life.
The PYAC started as early as 1991, and the city government institutionalized activity in October 2005 through City Ordinance 286 authored by then-City Councilor Feliberto S. Oliveros III, declaring the last Saturday of June each year as PYAC.
City Information Officer Richard Ligad presided the meeting on Friday with working committees composed of the different offices of the city government, Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) etc.
The committees discussed the preparations for the activities such as the installation of tents, portable toilets, deployment of medical team, and other preparations.
The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) is the overall incharge of the PYAC.
Larry Martinez, CENRO Senior Environmental Management Specialist, said that they have prepared some 14,000 seedlings of indigenous tree species for the activity and this will be planted in an estimated area of three to four hectares. Among the species are Tanabag, Banaba, Bunog, Bolong eta, Narra and Ipil.
He further said that they are currently doing the site preparation activities such as strip brushing to prepare the tree-planting site. After the PYAC, personnel from the City ENRO will maintain the site to ensure that the newly-planted seedlings will attain high survival rate.
The working committee will meet a week before the PYAC to update of the preparations. This time, the city government will invite representatives from universities and schools.
Since PNP and AFP will deploy personnel in the area the day before PYAC, camping in the area is allowed on the eve of the activity. Martinez said that the Boys Scout and Girls Scout will hold camping in the site, a day before the activity.