“Alay ng Kapatiran sa Inang Kalikasan”

When one hears the word fraternity in recent times what enters and flashes into our minds are pictures of a paddle mercilessly being whacked into a newly recruited member by leaders of a group of young students, believed to be highly idealistic fraternity organizers but obviously possessing distorted sense of value and set of minds.

The newest victim allegedly perpetrated by the LEX LEONUM fraternity of De la Salle University, Marc Andy Marcos is just one of several victims of hazing who died during initiations, a “pre-requisite” for admission to an exclusive brotherhood fraternities sprouting like mushrooms in several colleges and universities of the land.

The Marcos gruesome death through hazing was denied by its leaders claiming that their fraternity does not advocate violence and condemned the killing by saying further that they are “professio-nals and we do not believe in the power of force used as reason but in the power of reason used as force.”

Not much publicized, less heralded and one of a different kind is the Beta Sigma Fraternity, a nationwide organization but also established in Region 8, posits a laudable feat. This group has responded to the call of the call of government to participate in the National Greening Program (NGP) thru the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, (DENR).

BETA SIGMA president Dan Antonio Tentativa led his group to actively respond to the call. A tree planting activity was immediately done, in cooperation with all Betan as an output from a memorandum of agreement signed between president Tentativa and Manolito Ragub, DENR executive director of Region 8 and in the agreement DENR designated the BETA SIGMA Frat as “adoptor” to “protect and preserve the environment. The fraternity has “adopted” the boundary between Barangays SAWA and IBA in Basey town and immediately this past week they planted 5,000 bakawan seedlings covering a 2-hectare mangrove in these areas.

During the tree planting numbering some fifty people – mostly environment protection adherers participated in the activity. They include of course BETA SIGMA fraternity of Region 8 members and officers led by Fraternity president Tentativa, DENR officials led by Executive Regional Director Ragub and a host of barangay official of SAWA and IBA all of Basey.

The “adopted” mangrove area will constantly be visited. Tentativa also revealed that are designating a caretaker who will monitor the plants on a daily basis. He further revealed that their next target will be Pinabacdao.

Tentativa even before the Beta Siga involvement in environment protection and propagation has already initiated the planting of a thousand bakawan trees in Pinabacdao.

May his tribe and the active Beta Signa fraternity INCREASE, and be imbued with a PERMANENT and not a TENTATIVE desire to help save and protect the mangroves from the wanton destruction of our environment.

Mabuhay: BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY!!!!

By: Alvin Gz. Arpon

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