Aboitiz Group eyes rehabilitation of Buhisan Watershed

(L to R) Jose Antonio Aboitiz of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP); Anton Mari Perdices, Visayan Electric Company (Veco) chief operating officer; Maribeth Marasigan, Aboitiz Foundation first vice president and chief operating officer; and Elvin Ivan Uy, PBSP director for operations entered into a memorandum of agreement for the first year of implementation of the Cebu A-Park project. | Contributed Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Aboitiz Group has committed to implement a multi-million rehabilitation project involving 150 hectares at the Buhisan Watershed.

The project dubbed as the Cebu A-Park, is envisioned to be completed in five years and will cost over P20 million, according to a press statement from the Aboitiz Group. The first phase of the project will cost P3.2 million.

The project will include the reforestation of the 150-hectare adopted area, as well as disaster risk reduction management training and livelihood training for the people’s organizations there.

“This project is only the beginning. With all of us starting on the same page, having the same destination and story ending, and agreeing to be measured in the same way, we will achieve more,” said Maribeth Marasigan, Aboitiz Foundation first vice president and chief operating officer.

Marasigan added that projects that advance business and communities are among the top priorities of their foundation. The foundation has established different A-Parks across the country, a nationwide effort to establish sustainable environment programs through adoption, rehabilitation, and the development of protected areas to become eco-tourism hubs all over the country.

Aside from contributing to the efforts to protect the Buhisan watershed, the project would promote love for nature and eco-tourism, according to Anton Mari Perdices, Visayan Electric Company (Veco) chief operating officer.

Veco will spearhead the establishment of a butterfly sanctuary in the area.

“This area is really a beautiful place to bring your children to, so they are aware of the need to plant trees to protect and save the environment, and to think this is just within the city,” Perdices added.

The five-year project will also have hiking trails, watch towers for bird watching and natural fish spas.

Meanwhile, Jose Antonio Aboitiz of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) thanked the Aboitiz Group for continuing to partner with the organization for projects that are aimed at protecting the watershed area.

Marasigan, Perdices and Elvin Ivan Uy, PBSP director for operations, signed on Wednesday the memorandum of agreement for the first year of the project implementation. Present during the signing were representatives from the four mountain barangays covered by the watershed area – Buhisan, Toong, Sapangdaku and Pamutan.

Representatives from the different people’s organizations in the area and representatives from the different Aboitiz business units operating in Cebu — Visayan Electric Company, Aboitiz Power, AboitizLand, Aboitiz Construction,  Aboitiz InfraCapital, Republic Cement, Mactan and Balamban Enerzones, Ramon Aboitiz Foundation and City Savings Bank, also attended the MOA signing.

The 630-hectare Buhisan Watershed is part of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape.| dcb