MANILA, June 14 In the lead up to the 150th birth anniversary of Dr.

. Jose Rizal on Sunday, June 19, environmentalists paid tribute to the national hero, citing his intimate love and concern for people and nature. In a statement, the EcoWaste Coalition, an environmental network of over 125 public interest groups, honored Rizal for his many but often unproclaimed contributions to community health and the environment. We pay homage to our national hero Jose Rizal for his keen devotion to improving community health and environment long before the Constitution formally committed to promoting and protecting the health and environmental rights of the people, said Roy Alvarez, president of EcoWaste Coalition. The present Constitution of the Philippines declares the pursuit of the peoples right to health and the right to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature as state policies. We can find in Rizal the qualities and skills of an authentic Filipino who treasures our natural patrimony and uses the earths resources for the health and well-being of the people, Alvarez emphasized. As "the greatest product of the Philippines," in the words of his best friend Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt, Rizal, an animal and plant lover, also excelled in many fields of environmental work, including as an agriculturist, botanist, conchologist, horticulturist, ichthyologist, sanitary engineer and zoologist. The EcoWaste Coalition specifically pointed to Rizals vibrant life as a political exile from 1892 to 1896 in the town of Dapitan, now a thriving city with scenic beaches and hills in the province of Zamboanga del Norte. As an environmental health and rural reconstruction champion of his era, Rizal carried out community projects in Dapitan that afforded the people with tangible health, sanitation and ecological benefits, the EcoWaste Coalition said. Among these projects were the aqueduct that Rizal engineered from a mountain stream that gave people of Dapitan access to clean water, the draining of swamps to control the breeding of malaria mosquitoes, the provision of street lighting system using coconut oil lamps, and the beautification of the town plaza.

Like today's herbalists, Rizal, who was also a physician specializing on eye diseases, studied locallygrown medicinal plants and have these prescribed to his poor patients to alleviate their health problems, the group noted. An avid naturalist, or a person who studies natural history, Rizal collected samples of animals and plants from the forest and seashores, including an amazing collection of 346 shells consisting of 203 species, 38 new varieties of fish and some rare specimens that have been named after him such as the Apogonia rizali (a beetle), Draco rizali (a flying dragon) and Rhacophorus rizali (a frog). Also, as a farmer, he planted and cared for hundreds of trees in Dapitan, including a very old dao tree that is still standing in the city, a living testament of Rizals passion for nature, the EcoWaste Coalition observed. As we mark his 150th birthday, we join our historians in inviting the entire nation, especially the youth, to rediscover and celebrate Rizal, particularly his unheralded service to the environment, Alvarez stated. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the government agency in charge of leading the 150th observance of Rizals birthday, has set Rizal: Haligi ng Bayan as the theme for the celebration. (PNA) DCT/scs/PR/mec
Today marks the 150th birthday of our National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal. As the country celebrates Jose Rizals 150th birthday, environmentalist honors him as the Hero for the Environment. According to Mr. Roy Alvarez, president of EcoWaste Coalition, published in Philippine Star today June 19, 2011: We pay homage to our national hero Jose Rizal for his keen devotion to improving community health and environment loong before the Constitution formally committed to promoting and protecting the health and environmental rights of the people. Aside from the fact that he is a doctor, he also exelled in many field of environmental work being an agriculturist, botanist, conchologist, horticulturist , ichthyologist, sanitary engineer and zoologist. He was also known to be an animal and plant lover that he planted and cared for hundreds of trees in Dapitan, including a very old dao tree that is still standing in the city. Nobody can contest how great Dr. Jose Rizal. He is our national hero. The hero of the people, hero for the environment.

SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA TODAY CALLED ON FILIPINOS TO HIGHLIGHT AND HONOR ANOTHER

FACET IN THE LIFE OF THE COUNTRY'S NATIONAL HERO - THAT OF BEING A HERO OF THE ENVIRONMENT. Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change and a staunch environmentalist, said that Dr. Jose Rizal also underscored the importance of caring for the environment through his actions, which Filipinos must recognize and aim to follow. "Most of us know Dr. Jose Rizal as the highly-educated hero who disclosed the system of colonial rule in the Philippines and prompted Filipinos to fight for their freedom through his notable books Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Little did we know about his environmental advocacies that are worth emulating," she explained. Legarda noted the observations of the environmental organization EcoWaste Coalition, which emphasized the life of Rizal during his exile in Dapitan where he carried out various projects such as the construction of an aqueduct that provided people with clean water, draining of swamps to avoid being breeding places of mosquitoes, use of coconut oil lamps to light up streets, beautification of the town plaza, and planting of trees in different parts of the town. The Senator pointed out that these acts of Rizal, if emulated by every barangay in the country, will go a long way in improving the health of both the people and the environment in every community. "We can never underestimate the importance of caring for our nature because Rizal himself made it one of his advocacies during the time when it was not even a national or global concern yet." "Every Filipino must strive to follow the good example of our national hero, not just in the aspect of protecting our rights and sovereignty but also with regard to preserving our environment, which is essential as it is the source of our vital needs for continuous existence," Legarda stressed.