We know that many organizations have done much to honor individuals, socio-civic organizations, and business firms that have been making an impact when it comes to environmentalism.
We counted those who went beyond just being mere island dwellers, and we discovered that only a few made care for the environment as their lifetime advocacy; they are the only survivors of what used to be a flood of green believers.
Environmentalism has redefined the lifestyles of these island dwellers, and for this, they have been recognized by national and international organizations.
In Oriental Negros, our green team is led by our very own National Scientist Dr. Angel C. Alcala who is recognized as the world’s Father of Coastal Resources Management, a program he pioneered, and which has cascaded to the global coastal communities.
Beyond Dr. Alcala’s prominence, there are also tiny voices in our community who are worthy of the recognition for green heroism.
This realization led to the birth of Kinaiyahan Awards by the Alumni Association of Silliman University, specifically the Dumaguete City Chapter.
At the height of the celebration of the centennial of Silliman in 2001, Prof. Rebecca Capulong of the University Peace Center suggested that we give special recognition to environmentalists as they are among the major achievers in the history of our community.
Beccay specifically mentioned two Silliman alumni: Dr. Nona Calo of Butuan City who fought for the stop of illegal logging in Agusan del Norte, and Rep. Belma Cabilao who played a major role in asking the Philippine government to disapprove the reclamation of the Dumaguete waterfront.
Due to the urgency of the proposed recognition for it to be part of the centennial celebration then, the search committee — composed of Professor Capulong, Jose Mari Jonathan Antonio of the No-to-Reclamation Movement, Regal Oliva of the Silliman Alumni Association, Esther Windler of Friends of Banica River & the Environment, and myself representing the Silliman Centennial Commission — decided to narrow down the search to that year’s environment heroes.
On Aug. 28, 2001 during the Silliman University Alumni Night, Dr. Nona Calo and Cong. Belma Cabilao were honored as the first Kinaiyahan awardees.
More than a decade later, another hero was shining bright with his Liptong Woodland Reforestation project. Rene “Tatay Eti” Vendiola, former barangay captain, who made a model forest with more than 200 endemic species of Philippine trees.
Liptong Woodland was an eco-original, and a groundbreaker environment story. Tatay’s Liptong is a little “Planet Green” dotting our island.
And we were all thrilled to see Tatay Eti’s influence going global with national and international citations for his heroism: saving our native trees. In 2012, he was given the Kinaiyahan Award.
When our acknowledged “king of the environment“ was named National Scientist for his many projects to nurture the marine environment, Dr. Angel C. Alcala was given the Kinaiyahan Award in 2013.
This year, we nominated grassroots leaders who have done outstanding work in our own backyards. This year’s Kinaiyahan awardees are our local heroes:
Posthumously awarded is Agriculture professor Benjamin A. Bokingo, who hails from Mindanao. He was cited for his community leadership and generous sharing of resources in the greening programs of various church, socio-civic, academic and youth organizations in Negros Oriental, this generosity was particularly marked by the transfer of agricultural technology and the provision of seedlings of various species of Philippine trees and other species leading to the success of many fruit farms, landscaped gardens, and tree planting projects. A great part of today’s second generation forest of Negros Oriental came from the Bokingo green house.
Cecilia T. Hofmann has made Negros Oriental her home. She was cited for her lifetime dedication to advocacies protecting women and children and it was noted that all these were done with much consideration to a vital dimension to Filipino community life: the protection of the natural environment at all levels within and beyond Valencia, her chosen hometown.
This passion was particularly marked by her co-founding of the Friends of Banica River & the Environment which was later expanded to cover all provincial concerns under the Friends of the Environment in Negros Oriental (FENOr), and for her many other gifts of peace through volunteerism directed towards a stronger arm against environmental destruction.
Esther Ceniza-Windler was cited for her generous sharing of wisdom in the care of the home surroundings which is flowing like a huge river of endless passion to protect the environment within and beyond her riverside dwelling. This advocacy was particularly marked by her leadership of the Banica River & the Environment which covers so many programs including mounting major protests against intrusion of the environment: No to Reclamation of the Dumaguete waterfront, No to the Circumference Road around the Twin Lakes, No to the Cutting of Original Forest Cover of Mt. Talinis to expand the geothermal project, No to Blacksand Mining, and many more. She also shares her advocacy for organic farming through her own model herb garden around her home. Under her leadership, FBRE has expanded to cover all other concerns under the Friends of the Environment in Negros Oriental. She also shares many other gifts of peace through volunteerism.
Kinaiyahan is the local word for nature, and we are indeed fortunate that the heroes we have honored went beyond just being dwellers of our side of the island by extending much of the needed care and the protection so that all the wonders of nature will continue to beam with the beauty of the quality life we get to enjoy.
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Author’s email: karlmike@yahoo.com
