Employees of the Bureau of Customs from the Central Office and the 17 Collection Districts joined the nationwide simultaneous tree planting activity on 26 November.
A total of 4,500 seedlings were planted as part of the bureau's Customs Social Responsibility Program, with the theme "Ikaw, Ako, at ang BoC."
Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz led the joint tree-planting activity of the Central Office, Ports of Manila, Batangas, Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Manila International Container Port at Sitio Bulihan, Barangay Tabangao Ambulong in Batangas City.
"Planting a tree is the most selfless act you can do," Ruiz said.
"You plant a tree for yourself and your children because you want to ensure the survivability of your lineage, but, in doing so, you also ensure that other people and species will benefit from it. 'Pag nagtanim tayo ng puno at inaalagaan ang kalikasan, para na rin nating inaalagaan ang ating kinabukasan."
The Ports of Tacloban, Surigao, Subic, Clark, Davao, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Limay, Zamboanga, Aparri, iloilo and Legazpi also held their tree-planting activity programs in their respective cities.
Among the seedlings planted during the simultaneous activity were narra, molave, mahogany, and mangrove.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed all government agencies to make tree-planting a part of their programmed environmental activities to help strengthen the country's flood resilience capability. Ruiz, as BoC chief, is aggressively pursuing innovations in Customs programs to boost employee morale and support the President's advocacies and priority programs.