November 14, 2015 was an unusual day for me. It was a Saturday but I was not in my go-to coffee shop in Atria aimlessly sipping my favorite drip iced coffee,nor in SM City Iloilo checking out the racks at my favorite discount store. Instead, I was somewhere more than a hundred kilometers away from the city with my Assumption Iloilo schoolmates and teachers hitting the trail, clearing down trees, digging some ditches, and planting more trees for our children, and for our children's children.
To show a concrete response to Pope Francis' environmental encyclical entitled 'Laudato Si,' a group of Assumption Iloilo student leaders and faculty members joined other non-government organizations (NGOs) in a one day tree planting activity at Mt. Opao in San Dionesio, Iloilo. In the encyclical, the Holy Father invites everyone to join a dialogue on the shaping of the future of our planet. He says, "Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, and political. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day."
At the peak of dawn, we left Iloilo City for a three-hour long journey to San Dionisio, a sleepy coastal town where the air is fresh and the mountain craggy. Mt. Opao lords over the whole vista of plains and seashores. It is known for its cool springs where mountain villagers get water from. Sometime in 2012, the place got media attention when Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, Sr. temporarily suspended the mining exploration for gold and copper in the area. Residents claimed that the operation of a Manila-based mining firm was destroying the water source of the village which was close to the mine site.
Early as we were, the hike up Mt. Opao already proved challenging. Still, we persevered, threatened by the sweltering sun and fueled by the promise of a delectable seafood lunch after. By the time we reached the top, we were all exhausted. Our discomforts dissipated, though, when each one of us was handed small seedlings. As I received the delicate little plant in my hands, I felt something different. It was a feeling of being, a wholeness of some sort. It was the smallest thing but possibly the grandest gesture I can do today - planting a tree seedling.
I was proud of myself for helping mother earth.
