The 6th National Search for Sustainable and Eco-friendly Schools is once again accepting entries for the most environment-friendly and sustainable schools in the Philippines.

This search is organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), in collaboration with the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Nestle Philippines and Landbank of the Philippines,to encourage schools/academic institutions to become more actively involved in environmental issues at a practical and local level.

Geared towards the adoption of behavioral solutions in addressing climate change and other environmental issues, the competition also aims to initiate active responses and raising community awareness and participation on environmental concerns among students, faculty and school administrators.

The competition is divided into three categories: elementary, high school and college. Both public and private institutions are invited to join. It will be judged by noted individuals in the areas of environmental education coming from the government and private sector, both at the regional and national levels.

The top entry per category from every region will be forwarded to the EMB Central Office in Quezon City for national judging.

Winning schools in the national level will receive PhP50,000 – 1st Prize, PhP40,000 – 2nd Prize, and PhP30,000 -3rd Prize, as well as plaques of recognition. As for the regional level, a certificate of recognition and a prize of PhP15,000 will be given to regional winners for each category.

Aside from the main winners, the search will also be awarding three Special Category Leadership Awards, namely: The Nestle Water Leadership Award that seeks to recognize and promote solutions, practices and initiatives of schools in water management and conservation; The Energy Leadership Award which focuses on energy efficiency and conservation embedded in school activities; and The Landbank Green Leadership Award will be given to the three national first prize winners per category.

The Nestle Water Leadership Award and the Energy Leadership Award will grant PhP20,000 to each of the winners at the national level for college, high school and elementary school categories. A prize of PhP10,000 and a certificate of recognition will be awarded to each of the regional winners of all categories. As for the Landbank Green Leadership Award, winners at the national level will be awarded PhP25,000.
The deadline for the submission of entries is on or before April 26, 2019. For public elementary and high school categories, three hard copies of entries shall be submitted directly to their respective DepEd Division Offices. For the private elementary and high school, and college categories, entries shall be submitted to the nearest EMB Regional Office.

Entries that should include a one-page description of the environmental programs and projects of the school with two photos with caption, and the other required information should also be uploaded at the Eco-friendly School Facebook Page or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

All the winning entries for each category, together with selected entries will be displayed during the national awarding ceremonies to be held in November in time for the celebration of the National Environmental Awareness Month.

For further details, you may contact the National Program Secretariat at the Environmental Education and Information Division, EMB-DENR, 2nd Floor HRD Building, DENR Compound, Visayas Ave., Diliman, Quezon City. Telefax Numbers: (02) 928-4674 and 376-5610 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..###

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Parent Category: News & Events

Category: Press Releases

Published: 08 April 2019

Kasalukuyan nang tumatanggap ng aplikasyon ang Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) para sa paghahanap ng mga piling paaralan para sa “6 th National Search for Sustainable and Eco-friendly Schools” sa buong bansa.

Ang patimpalak na ito ay inorganisa ng Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) ng DENR, katuwang ang Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Nestle Philippines at Landbank of the Philippines, na may layuning hikayatin ang mga paaralan at ibang academic institutions na maging aktibo sa mga usaping pangkapaligiran sa local level .

Bukod sa pagtutok sa mga solusyon sa problema ng climate change at iba pang environmental issues, layunin din ng kompetisyon na ito na imulat ang kamalayan ng mga mag-aaral, guro at school administrators sa isyung pangkalikasan. 

Hinati sa tatlong kategorya ang kompetisyon, ito ay ang elementary, high school at college category. Bukas din ito sa lahat ng pampubliko at pampribadong paaralan. Magsisilbi namang hurado ang mga kilalang personalidad sa larangan ng environmental education na magmumula sa gobyerno at pribadong sektor para sa regional at national levels. Ang mapipili sa bawat rehiyon ay ipadadala sa EMB Central Office para sa “national judging”.

Ang mananalong paaralan para sa national level ay magkakamit ng halagang PhP50,000-1 st Prize; PhP40,000-2 nd Prize at PhP30,000-3 rd Prize, kasama pa nito ang plake ng pagkilala. Para naman sa regional winners, mabibigyan ng certificate of recognition at halagang PhP15,000 ang mapipiling kalahok sa bawat kategorya.

Bukod sa mapipiling panalo, magbibigay din ng tatlong Special Category Leadership Awards kabilang na dito ang The Nestle Water Leadership Award para sa water management at conservation; The Energy Leadership Award na kikilala sa energy efficiency and conservation para sa aktibidades sa kanilang paaralan at ang Landbank Green Leadership Award na ipagkakaloob sa tatlong National First Prize Winners sa bawat kategorya.

Makatatanggap ng PhP20,000 ang mga mapipiling Nestle Water Leadership Award at Energy Leadership Award para sa national level ng college, high school at elementary school categories habang PhP10,000 at certificate of recognition ang ibibigay sa regional winners sa bawat kategorya. Mabibigyan naman ng PhP25,000 ang Landbank Green Leadership Award para sa national level.

Sa darating na Abril 26, 2019 ang huling araw sa pagsusumite ng “entries”. Para sa public elementary at high school categories, isusumite ng mga lalahok ang tatlong kopya ng kanilang “entry” sa DepEd Division Office. Kailangan namang dalhin sa pinakamalapit na EMB Regional Office ang mga magsusumite ng kanilang “entry” sa private elementary, high school at college categories.

Ang mga isusumiteng “entries” ay kinakailangan ilagay sa isang pahina kung saan nakasaad ang deskripsiyon ng “environmental program” at proyekto ng kanilang paaralan na may kalakip na dalawang larawan na may nakalagay sa “caption” at iba pang impormasyon, kinakailangan ding i-upload ang ilalahok na “entry” sa Eco-friendly School Facebook Page o kaya naman ay ipadala sa pamamagitan ng email sa This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Ipakikita ang lahat ng nanalong kalahok sa bawat kategorya at iba pang napili entries sa national awarding ceremonies sa gaganapin sa Nobyembre 2019 kasabay ng pagdiriwang ng National Environmental Awareness Month.

Para sa karagdagang impormasyon, maaaring tumawag sa National Program Secretariat ng Environmental Education and Information Division ng EMB-DENR na may tanggapan sa 2nd Floor HRD Building, DENR Compound, Visayas Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City. Telefax Numbers: (02) 928-4674 at 376-5610, email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. ###

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Parent Category: News & Events

Category: Press Releases

Published: 08 April 2019

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has commended the Bureau of Customs (BOC)on the successful interception of over 700 live venomous tarantulas at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport earlier this week.

“The BOC agents and personnel who discovered the shipment should give themselves a pat on the back for stopping the illegal trade of these wildlife species,” Cimatu said.

The tarantulas, with a combined estimated value of P310,000, were concealed in gift-wrapped boxes for oatmeal, cookies and tea shipped from Poland. The interception also led to the arrest of two suspects, one of them is the consignee of the shipment.

Cimatu hailed the seizure of 757 tarantulas and apprehension of the suspects as “another victory in the fight against illegal wildlife trade.”

He also vowed that there will be no letup in the crackdown against poachers and wildlife traffickers.

“We will never get tired of rescuing wildlife and put their tormentors before the bar of justice so as to teach people a lesson that wildlife species are not commodities for trade,” Cimatu said.

The suspects and the tarantula shipment were turned over to the Philippine Operations Group on Ivory and Illegal Wildlife Trade, or simply Task Force POGI, which is composed of wildlife enforcers from various agencies, including the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police.

BMB senior ecosystems management specialist Rogelio Demellentes Jr. said the two suspects who claimed the shipment at NAIA’s Central Mail Exchange Center have already been charged for violating Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources and Protection Act, which defines and penalizes illegal wildlife trade.

Under the law, unlawful trading, possession and transport of wildlife species are punishable by a jail term of up two years and a fine of not more than P200,000.

Demellentes said the task force will coordinate with the Polish government for the possible return of the trantula shipment to its country of origin.

In the meantime, the tarantulas are placed under quarantine and observation, and will be under the custody of the BMB pending resolution of the case. ###

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Parent Category: News & Events

Category: Press Releases

Published: 05 April 2019

Pinuri ni Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu ang Bureau of Customs (BOC) sa matagumpay na pagkaka-kumpiska sa mahigit
700 piraso ng makamandag at buhay na tarantula sa Ninoy Aquino International Airport, kamakailan.

“The BOC agents and personnel who discovered the shipment should give themselves a pat on the back for stopping the illegal trade of these wildlife species,” sabi ni Cimatu.
Ang mga nakumpiskang tarantula na aabot sa halagang P310,000 ay nakitang nakalagay sa loob ng gift-wrapped boxes ng oatmeal, cookies at tea na nanggaling mula sa
bansang Poland. Naaresto rin ang dalawang katao kabilang na ang consignee ng shipment.

Ayon kay Cimatu ang pagkaka-kumpiska sa 757 piraso ng tarantula at pagkakaresto sa dalawang suspek ay isang tagumpay para sa laban sa illegal wildlife trade.
Nangako pa ito na hindi titigil ang mga awtoridad hanggang maubos ang mga “poachers at wildlife traffickers”.

“We will never get tired of rescuing wildlife and put their tormentors before the bar of justice so as to teach people a lesson that wildlife species are not commodities for trade,”
dagdag pa ni Cimatu.

Ang dalawang suspek at ang tarantula shipment ay dinala na sa Philippine Operations Group on Ivory and Illegal Wildlife Trade o mas kilala sa tawag na Task Force POGI na
binubuo ng wildlife enforcers mula sa iba’t-ibang ahensiya kasama na rito ang Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) ng DENR, National Bureau of Investigation at Philippine
National Police.

Ayon kay BMB Senior Ecosystems Management Specialist Rogelio Demellentes, Jr., ang dalawang suspek na kumuha ng padala sa NAIA’s Central Mail Exchange Center ay
sinampahan ng kasong paglabag sa Republic Act 9147 o Wildlife Resources and Protection Act.

Base sa nakasaad sa batas, ang sinumang mahuhuling nagbebenta, may dala at agbabiyahe ng wildlife species ay maaaring maparusahan ng pagkakulong ng hanggang
dalawang taon at pagmumultahin ng P200,000.

Sinabi pa ni Demellentes, nakikipag-ugnayan na ang task force sa Polish government sa posibilidad na pagsasauli ng tarantula shipment.

Sa kasalukuyan, ilalagay sa quarantine area at oobserbahan ang mga tarantula at mananatili sa pangangalaga ng BMB habang wala pang resolusyon sa kaso. ###

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Parent Category: News & Events

Category: Press Releases

Published: 05 April 2019

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has won a lawsuit against a wildlife trader who was caught selling a live green iguana, which is considered an endangered species, in July last year.

DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu welcomed the recent decision of the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 36 convicting Harriet Shelley Velarde for violating Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 2001.

RA 9147, among others, prohibits the killing, injuring, collection, selling and transport of threatened and endangered wildlife species.

Velarde was sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of one year and one day to two years, and to pay a fine of P200,000.

Cimatu hailed the court ruling as “a victory for the battle against illegal wildlife trade” as he vowed the DENR—through its Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB)—will “not waver in its commitment to protect the country’s wildlife species, especially the endangered ones.”

Court records showed that Velarde was arrested on July 18, 2018 in an entrapment operation carried out by the National Bureau of Investigation-Environmental Crime Division (NBI-EnCD) based on an intelligence report that she was selling endangered species in Quezon City.

The NBI-EnCD and Philippine Operations Group on Ivory and Illegal Wildlife or Task Force POGI planned an operation to verify the information using an asset who posed as buyer of the green iguana worth P10,000. Upon receiving the marked money, the operatives apprehended Velarde in front of a sari-sari store in Barangay Sangandaan, Project 8, Quezon City.
Task Force POGI is a composite group of enforcers from the BMB, NBI-EnCD, and the Philippine National Police deputized to go after those who possess and trade illegally acquiredflora and fauna.

Velarde lacked the requisite certificate of wildlife registration or any permit from the DENR to justify her possession of the green iguana, which is listed as endangered in the National List of Threatened Animal Species under DENR Administrative Order 2004-15.

Green iguana is also listed as endangered in Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It is a species native to South America and was illegally transported to the Philippines.

BMB Director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez had earlier issued a certification stating that “no person in the name of Harriet Shelly Velarde holds any wildlife permit or has been issued a permit to collect, possess, transport and/or trade wildlife, including its by-products and derivatives.”

In a decision penned by Presiding Judge Carlo Villarama and promulgated last March 13, the court said the prosecution was able to establish all the necessary elements required to prosecute Velarde for illegal sale of one live green iguana.

The court dismissed Velarde’s denial that she did not own the seized wildlife species as “untenable unsupported and unbelievable.”

“The bare denial of the accused carries little weight as against the overwhelming positive testimonies of the prosecution witnesses,” it said.

The prosecution witnesses included BMB officials and NBI-EnCD and the Task Force POGI who were involved in the entrapment operation.

Last year, the DENR and its partner law enforcement agencies successfully conducted 10 operations; arrested 15 wildlife crime perpetrators; confiscated more than 2,000 heads of various species of wild animals, over 3,000 pieces of plants, and more than 100 kilos of raw and stewed marine turtle meat worth P57 million; and filed 7 criminal cases against 15 individuals.

Recently, the Bureau of Customs and the DENR Task Force POGI also confiscated more than 1,500 heads of various species of turtle and tortoise at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and also won a lawsuitagainst an illegal wildlife trader who possessed a Malay monitor lizard or bayawak.###

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Parent Category: News & Events

Category: Press Releases

Published: 03 April 2019