“I am Sernito Ycay or ‘Ka Serning’ as most people call me, president of Inigan Upland Farmers Association here in the Marikina Watershed. For me, the issue about the watershed is important, and we know that all of us want to have a healthy upland forest, so that the damage made by Typhoon Ondoy will never happen again. We started the reforestation program with PLDT and PBSP in 2010 where they sent materials to build a nursery for the seedlings. The program is really about bringing nature back to a healthy condition by planting different kinds of native trees like lawaan, dungon, apitong, narra, and kupang. This is to ensure the preservation of nature’s beauty, and that is the goal of the organization that I lead, through the help of PLDT and PBSP. We really need to replace the trees that were lost in the Marikina Watershed because we also need secure the quality of water here. Now, there is a big improvement. A lot of people also benefited from the program because they were hired to plant trees and do regular monitoring and maintenance. We’ve also planted fruit-bearing trees that will help with the people’s livelihood once these trees have grown and produced their fruit.” —SERNITO YCAY, Rodriguez, Rizal