Five years ago, there were more than 20 people who went up to the mountains of Pung-ol Sibugay in Cebu City to plant 2,500 trees and celebrate the life of a green warrior who succumbed to complications brought about by uterine cancer.
Her name is Maria Luisa Barcelona Largo. We met when I was the business reporter of CDN while she worked for Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water.
We did not become good friends until I joined the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) in 2011 to be part of the Strategic Corporate-Community Partnership for Local Development proogram.
Malu was the head of the environment program portfolio.
Malu was a petite lady who laughed like it was nobody’s business.
Conversations with her were always insightful and thought-provoking. Our relationship progressed from plain officemates to close friends and we often found ourselves sharing the causes closest to our hearts.
She told me stories of bush fires in barangay Buhisan; of the exotic/foreign tree species planted in our soil which led to our birds leaving the forests; of initiatives geared towards planting and growing endemic/native tree species to entice the birds to come home.
On June 2012, a year before I left PBSP to live in China, Malu approached me with a smile that tells me she has some good news for me.
“Cris,” she said,”I have the results of the baseline study of the VECO project. Ma-excite gyud ka ani!”
She was talking about the reforestation park project of the Visayan Electric Company (VECO) which started in 2010.
It was more popularly known then as the VECO’s project to plant one million trees in five years.
The baseline study revealed that there are 51 bird species which thrive in the Mananga Watershed. Eleven of the 51 species can only be found in the Philippines. Some of the birds are the Yellow-vented Bulbul, Philippine Bulbul, Everett’s White Eye, Lemon throated warbler, Black-naped Monarch and White-vented Whistler.
The surveys were conducted in sitios San Miguel and Sayaw of barangay Tabunan; and sitios Biasong and Pung-ol in barangay Sibugay.
I remember Malu arriving in the office exhausted but with happy stories to share about what she learned from the wildlife biologist. She wore her khaki pants or blue jeans, pink collared-shirt and fisherman’s hat.
Our then boss and good friend, Jessie Cubijano, was an equally restless soul who likes to brainstorm and come up with projects.
We talked about the possibility of eco-trails at the Buhisan Watershed and Forest Reserve, where students can participate in nature hikes and learn more about the source of water.
Malu’s giggles and ideas shone in these meetings even when she was already in pain from cancer.
There was a time when she started losing her hair from chemotherapy. She was weak and yet she was still in the office. She still laughed at my jokes. She even asked me when she can buy stylish wigs so she “I will still look pretty like you.” She mimicked the way I would deliver this line with hands on her waist.
Malu, even when she was sick, assisted me in my twin pregnancy.
We would hide in the office bodega. She gave me back massage every time she saw the fatigue on my face. We talked about economy, as she was an Economics graduate, married to an economics professor. She talked about her daughters and their hobbies.
Malu passed away barely two weeks after I gave birth to the twins. I cried but the pain of losing her did not sink in until a few months after. It dawned on me that she was not on sick leave; that she was really gone.
PBSP Visayas chairman Antonio Aboitiz, who was hands on in many projects, described her as fiercely intelligent.
Indeed, Malu was fiercely intelligent. She made sure that development initiatives were backed by scientific evidence and data. It was Malu who reminded me that treeplanting is only one step in the treegrowing value chain. She made me understand strip brushing, ring weeding, staking, hole digging, replanting and fertilizer application to ensure that trees grow to serve their purpose.
I still feel that she is around. Not a day goes by when I do not remember her because I see trees everywhere. Even in the absence of trees, I still remember her. Cebu lost a green warrior five years ago – one who does not need a spotlight to prove her commitment and dedication.
You are still sorely missed, Ulams.