By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez
IT was more or less a 70-minute plane trip and outside was a scalding 30ºC, the sun bearing down in all its might amid the clear blue sky. Brimming with warmth was the smile of the locals who welcomed our media team at the Puerto Princesa International Airport.
During our trip en route to a hotel downtown, representatives from the Republic Chemical Industries Inc. (RCI) gave us a brief orientation of the activities plotted out for our three-day stay in the city.
On the itinerary was a mangrove-planting activity, a boat racing event and a snorkeling trip around the Tangdol Reef.
The letter came around mid-July. Printed in a plain white parchment was an invitation saying that RCI, maker of the adhesive brand Pioneer Epoxy, and its CSR-managing entity, Pioneer Adhesives Foundation Inc. (Pafi), were launching joint community and environmental projects in Palawan.
Approximately 2 kilometers later, we arrived at our destination. We were given the rest of the afternoon to rest and prepare for the events over the following days. Later that night of July 15, we were invited to Hotel Centro for a welcome dinner and a media briefing. There, we were introduced to the president of RCI, John Spakowski II, and the executive director of Pioneer Foundation, Martina Spakowski. We also met with local reporters and writers who were also invited by the RCI.
John first went onstage to talk about the efforts of RCI in preserving the environment, starting from their operations to their actual products. “I’m proud to say that about 12 percent of our energy at the factory comes from renewable energy. We have 400 solar panels producing 100 megawatts of power and additional rainwater-collection devices that help us protect the environment in a very clean way.”
With regard to the substance of their adhesives, John shared, “Statistics show that we are producing greener products all the time. We would like everybody to know that Republic Chemicals does not produce any adhesives that have toluene [a chemical which can cause several health problems with prolonged exposure].”
He was followed by Martina, who gave a brief history of the Pioneer Foundation. First established in 2012 and relaunched in 2015, the foundation has defined its three main advocacies: education, disaster link and the environment.
Following the implementation of a coral-restoration activity in Boracay last year, RCI and Pafi brought its “Our Earth, Our Responsibility” operation to Puerto Princesa.
Crowned as the Princess of Ports, Puerto Princesa is a homestead to rich marine biodiversity, and a sanctuary to a huge percent of the coral-reef species in the archipelago. Its abundant waters provide the primary source of livelihood for the locals, its harbors a welcome basin for visitors who bring with them trade and businesses for the city.
However, with the sudden influx of tourists, combined with natural challenges, additional measures are now being called for to further protect its ecosystem. With the help of the local government, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the people from the melting pot of cultures that is Puerto Princesa, RCI and Pafi brought to the city their nationwide campaign of protecting the Philippines’s reefs through its “Reef Fix: A Coral Restoration Program.”
To kick-start the partnership between RCI-Pafi and the DOST, as well as boost the “Our Earth, Our Responsibility” banner, the foundation launched a mangrove-planting activity in Barangay San Jose on July 16.
Over 1,200 mangrove saplings were distributed to the residents and volunteers for planting. Stretching all the way from the coastline up to the area of grown mangrove trees were small tree branches peeking from soil holes in which they were planted.
Coral restoration is also one major concern that RCI-Pafi wants to address. In a reef-awareness talk organized by the foundation on July 17, Dr. Melvin Carlos of Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development- DOST shared the importance of coral reefs to the longevity of the island’s ecosystem. He also emphasized the vital role it plays in nation-building as it contributes at least P 70 billion annually to the economy. According to Carlos, the World Bank’s Philippine Environment Monitor (2005) estimated that 1 square kilometer of healthy coral reef generates an average of P2.5 million from fishing and tourism. However, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is citing projections that only 10 percent of the 26,000 sq km of coral area the Philippines covers is in a healthy state.
Pafi and the DOST further strengthened their partnership to address this concern. The DOST has been using Pioneer Epoxy Clay Aqua in its coral-restoration projects in areas across the Philippines. According to the DOST, this product by Pioneer resulted in higher success and survival rates, and is considered as an effective adhesive that glues down misplaced coral fragments to the actual reefs.
As of April 2016, DOST-PCAARRD, together with Sangkalikasan Coop and the city government of Puerto Princesa, were able to perform a coral-transplantation project in Barangay Bancao-Bancao, which established 10 coral nursery units with 5,000 coral opportunities. They were also able to gather help from 19 volunteers trained in open-water diving and more than 60 volunteers trained in coral-transplantation technology. RCI, on the other hand, contributed to these efforts by providing the DOST-PCAARRD with EpoxyClay Aqua at a discounted price in support of the coral transplantation efforts.
Unfortunately, due to a rise in temperature in early June, 95 percent of the transplanted fragments have bleached.
To help resolve this problem, Pafi’s Martina Spakowski said, “Coral bleaching is a phenomenon that happens, and we want to make sure that people know about it, so we decided to turn this into a reef-awareness talk. Through our partnership with the DOST, the Western Philippine University (WPU) and other organizations, we were able to come up with a six-month plan to restore the Tangdol Reef. Hopefully, when the seas are in a better condition, we can proceed to the transplanting to help restore the reef.”
Pafi invited Roger G. Dolorosa of the WPU and Jess E. Bream of the Palawan Council for the Sustainable Development to discuss what coral bleaching is and what causes it. According to these experts, coral bleaching is a natural phenomenon caused by a stress condition in coral reefs that involves the breakdown of zooxanthellae, an organism that provides corals with food.
Due to an imbalance in factors like temperature, salinity and ultraviolate radiation, combined with natural and anthropogenic phenomenon like flooding, El Niño Southern Oscillation, predatory outbreaks, overfishing and nutrient overloading, zooxanthellae cease to function properly. The photosynthetic pigments within the algae provide the coral with its coloration, thus the white (or bleached) color indicates the absence of such algae.
Pafi and the DOST are hopeful that within their six-month plan, coral restoration through transplantation could help assist in the quick recovery of coral reefs.
There’s more to RCI beyond environmental advocacies. Right after the mangrove-planting activity and before our snorkeling visit to the Tangdol Reef, we were ushered to Honda Bay to witness the first-ever Pioneer National Bangkarera. The boat race is dedicated for fisher folk and racing enthusiasts. Pioneer gathered members from local fishing communities, as well as delegates from all over the country, in a water competition aimed at fostering fellowship among the fishing communities, and also underscore RCI’s long-term plan to establish sustainable livelihood projects for the local fishermen in the country.
Both the 1st National Bangkarera and the Reef Fix: A Coral Restoration Program are supportive of a healthier Philippine ocean.
“These programs are aligned with the company’s overall mission to spearhead green initiatives to protect and conserve the environment through responsible practices and activities,” RCI said.