Today, February 14, together with the celebration of the heart’s day marks the two decades of passionate affection of the City to our environment. This aims to restore mangroves areas that are slowly degraded due to pollution and human interference. Over 7,000 mangroves were provided by the City ENRO to be planted by the participants coming from different Barangays of Puerto Princesa, government and non-government organizations, and various private sectors in the 5 hectares of land in the said Barangay.

The DENR-PENRO personnel actively planted mangroves and joined the program initiated by the City Government. In the message delivered by the mayor, he emphasized his appreciation to all the Puerto Princesan’s who actively participated in this year's celebration, despite the early start of the activity.

This annual celebration features mangrove tree planting festivity and mass wedding where 118 couples tied the knot in a romantic and environmental way as the newlyweds joined planting the mangroves after the wedding’s recessional. The mass wedding was officiated by the City Mayor, Lucilo R. Bayron. Indeed, February 14 is not just a day for couples, but also made for nature lovers who are willing to commit their lives in protecting the environment for the present and future generations.

The Love Affair with Nature celebration started in 2003 and was strengthened in 2005 by the approved City Ordinance 287. Since then, the city’s way of celebrating hearts day is through mass weddings and mangrove plantings held in different coastal areas in Puerto Princesa City. Mangroves play an important role in the environment as they contribute to coastal stability and serve as a natural buffer for floods, landslides, typhoons, and rising sea levels.

By Marie Chris Palma