Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF) has signed a new agreement with the municipality of Del Carmen in Surigao del Norte to strengthen Siargao mangrove conservation, granting ₱1.219 million to upgrade the island’s Mangrove Protection and Information Center II.
The memorandum of agreement, signed on 20 October 2026, sustains a partnership between the foundation and the municipality that began in 2013. According to MPIF, the facility is the only mangrove centre of its kind in Mindanao and will serve as a hub for environmental education, community participation, research and knowledge sharing.
A centre for education, research and community
“Protecting our mangroves is not just planting trees. It is about protecting lives, livelihoods, and the future of our communities,” MPIF President Melody M. del Rosario said in a statement. She added that sustaining a project matters more than launching it: “What is more important and more challenging is to sustain it, nurture it, and ensure that it continues to create value long after the launch.”
Under the agreement, the funding will improve the Mangrove Protection and Information Center II (MPIC II) in Siargao, a surf-famous island whose coastal communities depend on healthy mangrove forests for fishing, storm protection and tourism income.
Thirteen years of partnership
MPIF says it has extended an estimated ₱11.7 million to Del Carmen over the 13-year partnership, covering the development and improvement of conservation facilities, monthly allowances for local mangrove eco-guides, and recovery assistance after Typhoon Odette.
Del Carmen Mayor Alfredo Matugas Coro II welcomed the renewed agreement, saying the municipality’s next 15 years are about “ensuring sustainability and equitable growth”.
According to MPIF, Del Carmen hosts a contiguous 4,000-hectare mangrove forest, described as the second largest in the Philippines after Palawan, and the forest was declared a wetland of international importance by the Philippine government on World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2023, on the way to a possible Ramsar listing. The foundation also reports zero mangrove cutting in Del Carmen since the centre’s inauguration, and says community ecotourism linked to the mangroves supported 1,000 direct jobs and a 29 percent poverty reduction as of 2019 data. These figures come from MPIF and have not been independently confirmed.
Why mangroves matter
Mangroves protect coastlines from storm surges, shelter fish nurseries and store large amounts of carbon in their soils and biomass. Mangroves can sequester carbon at rates up to four times higher than terrestrial forests, according to the Aga Khan Foundation’s ReGeneration programme overview, which is one reason conservation groups treat mangrove protection as both a biodiversity and a climate measure.
Elsewhere in Asia, large-scale planting drives continue: Bangladesh recently ordered quarterly reviews of its 250-million-tree planting campaign, showing how governments across the region are pairing planting targets with follow-up checks.
Key Facts
- MPIF and Del Carmen signed a memorandum of agreement on 20 October 2026 for Siargao mangrove conservation.
- ₱1.219 million will upgrade the Mangrove Protection and Information Center II, described as Mindanao’s only mangrove centre.
- The partnership began in 2013; MPIF says about ₱11.7 million has been extended to Del Carmen so far.
- Three local mangrove eco-guides receive monthly allowances under the partnership.
- Del Carmen’s contiguous mangrove forest covers about 4,000 hectares, according to MPIF.
Conclusion
The renewed agreement keeps the focus on long-term care rather than a one-off planting event: a better centre, paid local guides and steady funding for a forest that shields Siargao’s coast and supports its people.
