Val Serag: 1,000 Trees: According to First District Board Member Marcelo Valentine Serag, nature is his solace. His deep love for nature stemmed from childhood – with the environment always providing him tranquility and respite. This persistent love inspired him to transform a three hectare property into a haven with more than a thousand trees, now known as Igbulawan Farm in San Joaquin, Iloilo.
“Highschool pa lang ako, haven ko na ini ang Igbulawan. Kung akigan ako ni nanay, diri ako gapalagyo,” begins BM Serag. “Asta nag college ako sa Manila. After college, pagbalik ko di, it was disappointing. Nangin victim ini siya sang kaingin,” he continues.
Kaingin is the practice of cutting and burning trees and plants for cultivation purposes. It has been regarded as a form of traditional deforestation.
BM Serag, in a bid to restore the land into its former glory, began to plant trees. Among those he planted are narra, salong, and murawon.
“After that, diri na ako nagstay, I started planting trees. Asta nga nakapangasawa ako ang naka position sa government,” he states.
He also formed the Life and Earth Savers Organization (LESO), a youth group focused on the advocacy of environmental protection and preservation. The group, together with BM Serag, organizes annual tree planting activities, as well as coastal cleanup drives in San Joaquin. BM Serag believes that this is a way to ignite a passion for the environment among the youth.
Igbulawan Farm
“So this place, palahuwayan ni namon,” BM Serag states. He often directs visitors to the notice near the entrance with the farm’s vision and mission:
“Vision: A place for relaxation and escape from hustles of life to commune with nature and advocate for and showcase harmonious human nature interaction.”
“Mission: To strive for the serene and fulfilled stay of guests and visitors so that they will be inspired to work hard and more for the environment and influence others to do so; to promote ecoistic lifestyle; to revive the abundance and quality of nature, soil, water, and air through planting and caring for plants; and to adopt nature friendly farming practices and responsible tourism to help preserve nature.”
Igbulawan Farm offers day visits and overnight accommodation. A P50 admission fee and P50 nature fee is required to interested guests. Overnight stays range from P500 (camping) to P2,600 (sapiw with dipping pool).
According to BM Serag, his purpose of opening Igbulawan Farm to the public is to provide a haven for visitors to commune with nature.
“Our purpose is to show the public nga maski raw ang lugar, ma enjoy giyapon naton. Kay ginapakita naton nga this is how important nature is. Ang purpose gid naton is to share the advocacy of environmental protection,” he states. BM Serag also added that the farm enforces strict rules to protect the environment. This includes littering and garbage disposal.
“If we protect the environment, dako gid ya ang mabulig sa aton, especially sa aton community. Bisan ano pa naton ka develop sang lugar, maski ano pa ka mayo ang negosyo kung ang environment maguba, laban laban ma suffer gid kita tanan. Ini, bilin naton ini para sa next generation,” BM Serag concludes.
