3M trees planted in ‘Treevolution’

An army of 160,000 people join ‘TreeVolution’ in Mindanao. Photo by Saranggani PNP

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Officials said more than three million trees had been planted across Mindanao in a bid to beat India’s world record for most trees planted in an hour.

At the massive tree planting campaign, dubbed Treevolution: Greening MindaNOW, thousands of volunteers planted trees in several parts of Mindanao, planting a total of 3,373,762 trees.

It was more than the 1.9 million trees that India, the current record holder for the most trees planted in an hour, planted in 2011.

Luwalhati Antonino, chair of the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda), said she eagerly awaited the verdict of the Guinness Book of World Records.

Campaign organizers had wanted 4.6 million trees planted in a total of 9,200 hectares of land in different parts of Mindanao in just an hour.

But confusion, delays and other problems stopped participants from reaching their assigned areas.

But even then, Antonino said it was an extraordinary feat, not just for the record but also for the environment.

In San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, long-time tree farmer Jerson Mellama planted 95 tree seedlings in just 24 minutes, making him the fastest planter in the campaign.

Mellama, 56, said he could have planted more if only he had more tree seedlings.

In Barangay Salman in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, the site of the infamous Maguindanao massacre, Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu also had his share of the national greening project.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and other provincial leaders have attributed the success of the campaign to the spirit of bayanihan (cooperation).

In Iligan City, some 100,000 trees had been planted from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

In Compostela Valley, areas worst hit by Typhoon “Pablo,” over 28,000 people managed to plant about 300,000 tree seedlings on a 1,100 hectare-area in Laak town, according to Fe Maestre, the provincial spokesperson. Laak, an upland town, is a known logging area. With reports from Chris Panganiban, Frinston Lim, Nash Maulana, Charlie Señase, Eldie Aguirre, and Richel Umel, Inquirer Mindanao