Saving the planet one movie at a time

DT·11 December 2023, 12:01 am·1 min read

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Saving the planet one movie at a time — (Back) Frandel Recto, Anna Rita Varona, Dante Ang II and Erika Bergara — board member, COO, chairman and chief of strategic partnerships, respectively, of Haribon Foundation; (front) Dr. Jeffrey Pino, municipal administrator, Tanay, Rizal; Arleigh Adorable, assistant secretary, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Forest Management Bureau director; Dr. Javier Galván, director, Instituto Cervantes; Reynaldo San Juan, vice governor, Rizal Province; Miguel Utray, Ambassador of Spain; Alvin Balderrama, councilor, San Andres, Tanay, Rizal; Ruben Camba, president, Acciona Philippines; Manuelito Aran, president, Samahan ng mga Magsasaka ng San Andres Inc.; and Forrester Thaddeus Martinez, Natural Resources Management Department chief, Haribon Foundation. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SPANISH EMBASSY

Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain, Acciona and Haribon Foundation held a tree-planting activity in Tanay, Rizal on 21 November 2023 as a fulfillment of the Pelicula en verde, the green initiative of the 22nd edition of the PELÍCULA>Pelikula Spanish Film Festival.

The activity was led by Spanish Ambassador Miguel Utray, Instituto Cervantes director Javier Galván, Acciona Southeast Asia director Rubén Camba and Haribon Foundation chairman Dante Ang. Also present in the ceremony were Rizal Province Vice Governor Reynaldo H. San Juan, DENR Assistant Secretary Arleigh Adorable, Tanay Rizal Municipal Administrator Jeffrey Pino and Haribon COO Anna Rita Varona.

The recent 'PELÍCULA>Pelikula' Spanish Film Festival featured a pledge scheme where for every viewer of a film in the Pelicula en verde section, a tree would be planted.

This initiative was a first for the PELÍCULA>Pelikula Spanish Film Festival, which is organized by Instituto Cervantes every October. For this year, in an effort to increase awareness about the importance of protecting the environment while promoting Hispanic culture, Instituto Cervantes created a pledge scheme where for every viewer of a film in the Pelicula en verde section, a tree would be planted.

Instituto Cervantes, the cultural arm of the Spanish Embassy, collaborated on the project with Haribon Foundation, an NGO dedicated to the conservation of natural resources, and Acciona, a leading Spanish company in the field of sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy, to sponsor the planting of the trees.

Acciona's Southeast Asia regional headquarters is in Metro Manila, with projects in construction and water in the Philippines including Cebu's cable-stayed bridge, the Putatan II water treatment plant and parts of the railway linking Malolos town with Clark International Airport. Acciona's advocacies are also geared toward sustainability.

"Through the powerful medium of cinema, the recent film festival was partly programmed to focus and highlight environmental films and issues," Galván said.
"Culture is a catalyst of human relations, and Instituto Cervantes acted as a matchmaker between actors in the field of sustainability and the environment, such as Haribon and Acciona. This project is an example of how Spain and the Philippines are working hand in hand for a common concern that has no borders," he added.