Creating and dispensing awards has become such a widespread phenomenon of national culture that I sometimes wonder if the country wouldn’t qualify for some Guinness record. And just this week, the municipality of Bacong established the Leon Kilat Award (for the Katipunero born in Bacong) to recognize and honor its outstanding citizens, with a large and formal affair held on July 27 with the presence of the provincial governor, members of the provincial board, municipal mayors, representatives of the academe, the NCCA and descendants of the local hero.
Here is an award to cheer about: Rene Vendiola of Liptong, Bacong was honored for his commitment and work on bio-conservation and on “rainforestation”. This is a man, a farmer who has become probably the foremost expert in the province on endemic tree species, who has collected wildlings in the province’s few remaining forests and has carefully propagated them in his Liptong property.
I met Nong Ite almost ten years ago when with members of Friends of the Banica River and the Environment (now expanded and renamed FENOr (Friends of the Environment in Negros Oriental) we needed a mountain walk and bird-watching guide. At the time, he was already known as the preferred guide of Silliman and foreign natural scientists researching the province’s flora and fauna. We assembled before first light and began our walk up the mountains of Valencia, soon amazed at how much Ite could tell us about the trees and plants, along with both their local and scientific names, and this from a man who had to stop formal schooling at third year high school. It was also a thrill, perched there as we were on narrow mountain paths, to hear him imitate bird calls and to see birds swoop by that he identified to us.
This deep interest in nature, the desire and will to learn are remarkable in Ite. He has taught himself through books and interaction with academics and other experts to be knowledgeable about the environment, with a particular commitment to the idea of “rainforestation.” This has led to the creation of the Liptong Woodlands project in partnership with bio-conservationist Pol Carino, where some two hectares of land are planted to endemic species of trees. They also provide seedlings of trees for other tree-planting projects. Some months ago, when FENOr planted trees to green the Dumaguete Airport’s scorching cemented parking lots, seedlings from the Liptong Woodlands were donated by Ite and Pol, both FENOr members.
The idea of preserving and propagating endemic species is sometimes an uphill battle. Sometimes political leaders keen on tree-planting favor fruit trees on the notion that they might as well generate economic benefits from the sale of fruit. While this thinking may be valid for certain areas, the importance of endemic trees to the preservation of the Province’s original biodiversity and environmental health cannot be underestimated. How fortunate for us that Rene Vendiola demonstrates concrete efforts on biodiversity and urges us to do the same.
The Leon Kilat will not be Ite’s only award, he is among the top 5 candidates for next year’s Ramon Aboitiz Foundation awards. He will richly deserve that one too.