Adala (right) and his companion remove weeds around the saplings they planted.
contributed
With the sunrise starting to peek through his bedroom window, Embencio Adala prepares for another day out in a twenty-hectare farmland he tills.
Growing up in the mountains of barangay Candulawan, Talisay City, the 69-year-old father of two said his life has revolved around farming since childhood.
“I see nature not just a natural-given gift, but a beautiful home. It takes no educated man to know the importance of nature and its elements. When I see a tree, I am energized,” he said, smiling.
Adala’s family was among the 51 beneficiaries of the Adopt-A-Natural-Resource Stewardship Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the 1980s.
He was thankful that through the program he was able to plant more trees in his parents’ land.
“Our family had only a few hectares of land, which we planted with trees for our livelihood. My parents taught me to never abandon the natural habitat. We should preserve it while we are still alive,” he said.
The beneficiaries entered into stewardship agreements with the DENR for activities that would help preserve the land and its resources. Adala’s stewardship covered barangays Lagtang and Candulawan.
Adala, who is against illegal logging, said, “Some people consider our forest as a source of income. If we cut trees or do kaingin (slash and burn farming), the next generation won’t be able to see what we appreciate today. The forest is not ours. We have no right to abuse it.”
Adala was a forest guard in the mountains of Talisay for 10 years. Though he was receiving a meager salary of P40 a month from the DENR, he saw it as an opportunity to widen his advocacy on the environment.
Armed with a bolo, he roamed the areas where he was assigned to, especially at the vicinity of Buhisan dam, where illegal cutting of trees occurred.
He said those he caught cutting trees begged not to be fined.
“One time, I saw a man illegally cutting down trees. He told me he did it to earn money to feed his children. I empathized with his situation, but we should think not just for ourselves, but for others as well,” he said.
Adala said he once received a death threat because of his uncompromising stance on illegal logging. However, he did not elaborate further or give a name.
Adala is a former member of the New People’s Army (NPA). He said the rebel group recruited members from their community but since they were treated like mindless slaves following orders without question, he decided to leave the underground movement.
He said that was one of his most trying experiences in life.
“Maybe some people want to portray me as a bad man. (But) I did it to protect our environment,” he said.
He was once detained for 25 days at the Talisay City Police Station for a crime he did not commit. Around 10,000 people marched to the police station to demand for his release. It was then that he realized that many people loved him and appreciated what he was doing.
“If you always do the right thing, you will never be afraid of what might happen to you,” he said.
Currently, he leads the tree nurturance activity of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.’s GREENIN Philippines program together with other volunteers in Jaclupan, Talisay City.
His lot is planted with a variety of vegetables and fruit-bearing trees with the sale of the produce his main source of livelihood.
He has been the first and current president of the Federation of Farmers Association (FFFA) Candulawan-Lagtang Chapter since 1980.
He is also the chapel president of their community.
“I teach the young people how to properly plant trees. I always tell them to care for the environment. If this will be destroyed, we will lose everything,” he said.
Now that he is old, he wants the children to learn from his experiences in the forest, especially those in his fight against illegal logging activities.
“We are living in a beautiful home. The place we live in is only borrowed. We should take good care of it. It is more precious than a bar of gold,” he said.