The PGPC million trees Luzon initiative aims to plant a substantial number of trees to help restore the region’s natural habitat.
In the foothills of Mt. Malinao, under skies heavy with the scent of rain and soil, a thousand seedlings went into the ground. Their planting marked the beginning of something far larger: a five-year promise to grow more than a million trees across Luzon.
The Philippine Geothermal Production Company, Inc. (PGPC), Southeast Asia’s first commercial geothermal energy provider, has set its sights on re-greening over 1,200 hectares in seven provinces. The goal is simple but ambitious — restore forests, protect biodiversity, and give back to the land that powers the nation.
A Promise Beyond Power
For decades, PGPC has tapped the earth’s heat to provide clean energy. Today, it operates steam fields in Tiwi, Albay and Mak-Ban, straddling Batangas and Laguna, producing up to 300 megawatts of renewable electricity. But as the company expands into new geothermal sites, it also wants to leave more than megawatts behind.
“This re-greening program underscores PGPC’s dual commitment to clean energy and the environment,” says company president Napoleon L. Saporsantos Jr. “It reflects our dedication to stewardship as we develop geothermal sources that will sustain the country’s future.”
Roots in Community
The launch in Barangay Sugcad, Malinao, Albay wasn’t just corporate ceremony. Farmers, mayors, government engineers, and civic groups joined PGPC employees as they bent down in the mud, placing seedlings into the earth.
Some wore raincoats, others barong, but everyone’s hands carried soil.
“This is where the work begins,” one volunteer remarked. “It takes a community to grow a forest.”
Seven Mountains, One Vision
Over the next five years, PGPC’s seedlings will take root across Mt. Makiling, Mt. Daklan, Mt. Malinao, Mt. Labo, and the Bicol Natural Park. Each mountain carries its own story, its own species, and its own fragile balance. Together, they form a living corridor for future generations.
For PGPC, it’s a reminder that clean energy doesn’t exist apart from the land. It grows with it.
More Than Numbers
A million trees is a bold figure. But behind the number are quiet moments: a child watering a seedling, a grandmother remembering when rivers ran clearer, a worker planting beside the same hills that provide the steam for electricity.
Renewable energy may power cities. But these trees, PGPC hopes, will restore balance — cooling rivers, sheltering wildlife, and giving back oxygen to every breath.
As the first 1,000 seedlings take root, the path to a million begins. And with it, the story of how geothermal power in the Philippines can mean not only energy beneath our feet, but forests rising above us.
