Staff of CARD, Inc. (A Microfinance NGO), CARD Bank, and CARD MBA joined together to plant mangrove trees in Oriental Mindoro.
CARD Mutually
Reinforcing Institutions
(CARD MRI) planted 750
mangrove trees in Brgy.
Baruyan, Calapan City,
Oriental Mindoro on October 7, 2023 as an initiative to reduce the carbon
footprint and counteract oil
spill in the area.
As part of the
restoration effort, the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
(DENR) recommended
planting the said kind of
tree as the area suffered
from oil spill recently.
The said activity
also signifies CARD MRI’s
commitment to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals globally.
As shared by CARD MRI
Managing Director Aristeo
A. Dequito, “While we undertake various initiatives
to promote the well-being and prosperity of both
people and the planet, the
tree planting activity plays
an important role in advancing the 17 SDGs.” He
also added that the banking institutions of CARD
MRI has been one with
the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas in promoting sustainable financing through
compliance to BSP Circular No. 1805 Series of
2020.About 150 staff
from institutions under
CARD MRI participated in
the tree-planting activity,
namely, CARD, Inc. (A Microfinance NGO), CARD
Bank, and CARD MBA.
“It was challenging yet enjoyable. Aside
from saving the earth, we
also had an opportunity to
bond with each other, enabling us to strengthen our
connection,” CARD Bank
Regional Director Venancia Salazar said during an
interview.
M e a n w h i l e ,
CARD-Business Development Service Foundation Inc. (CARD-BDSFI),
a member institution of
CARD MRI that focuses on agricultural and
fisheries development,
signed a memorandum
of agreement with DENR
for these environmentally sustainable activities.
This agreement outlines
DENR’s quarterly visits to
the mangroves and mandates the institutions provide replacements for any
dead plants.
“We cannot fully
eradicate poverty without
caring for our common
home, our planet Earth.
With the climate crisis continuously intensifying, this
activity is a good approach
to help boost ecosystem
resilience and combat climate change,” CARD MRI
Founder and Chairman
Emeritus Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip concluded.
With a holistic
approach to development,
CARD MRI aspires to continuously achieve sustainability through its institutions specializing not only
in financial services, but
also in health, education,
and other community
