QCPD opens Metro’s first green camp

MANILA, Philippines — Accepting the challenge of the local government to play a major role in the protection of the environment, the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) became the first in Metro Manila to have a green camp.

Mayor Joy Belmonte yesterday led the inauguration of the QCPD’s green camp at Camp Karingal, a project that aims to promote having an environment-friendly workplace and contribute to reducing wastes.

“The QCPD is the first to establish a green camp. We hope other police districts follow suit,” she said in her speech.

Belmonte and QCPD director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan led a tree-planting activity at the camp.

Another highlight of the event was the donation of 400 fruit-bearing trees and the signing of a pledge of commitment in support of the one-million-tree initiative of the local government.

Belmonte said she was impressed by what she saw at the camp, full of vegetation and urban gardens in every office.

“I was surprised because I did not expect this to be elaborate, beautiful, extensive,” she told reporters in an interview.

The QCPD has 158 urban gardens, 147 waste segregation bins, 103 rainwater catchers and 526 solar lights at Camp Karingal and other police stations.

Belmonte lauded the QCPD for accepting her challenge of contributing to their goal of transforming Quezon City into a green, resilient and sustainable city.

The project is timely, Belmonte said, as the country is battling the effects of the dry spell brought by the El Niño phenomenon.

There are about 250 green parks and open spaces in Quezon City, a figure that Belmonte hopes to double in the coming years.