 Good day and mabuhay. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Republic of the Philippines, Secretary Roy A. Simato, wish to extend his congratulations to her Excellency Minister, Dr. Siti Nurbaya of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Indonesia and His Excellency Minister, Josh Pidenberg of the Department of Environment and Energy Government of Australia for co-hosting the third Asia Pacific Rainforest Summit here in Majestic Yogyakarta, protecting forests and people supporting economic growth. In the 1950s, the Philippines started the cutting and harvesting of our natural deep terrocar forests and exported these premium hardwood species all over the world. The forestry sector alone contributed 10% of the gross domestic product during those years. We started our rehabilitation airports in the 1960s but failed to provide solutions to major drivers of deforestation and degradation like illegal aging, slasen barn, agriculture, illegal cutting, upland poverty, good governance, institutional problems including lack of government funding. Our 1990 forestry master plan for forest development indicated that we have more than 20 million Filipinos living in the upland areas with a population growth and poverty incidents higher than the national average. Our forest coverage down from 16.8 million hectares in 1934 to only 6.84 million hectares in 2010, roughly 19% of our total land area. From 2003 to 2010, we are losing our forests at a rate of 46,954 hectares annually and the rate of degradation is at 142,347 hectares annually. Our forest and forest land is nearing the tipping point, operable loss. We need to recover the forest that we lost and rehabilitate the remaining degraded areas. In 2011, we started the implementation of the National Greening Program, the biggest deforestation program of the Republic of the Philippines, funded by taxpayers' money of the Republic of the Philippines. The aim of the program was to plant 1.5 million hectares of open, denuded, degraded forest land with 1.5 billion trees of variant species. The National Greening Program was designed, not just an ordinary deforestation program, but it was also intended to address poverty in the upland for inclusive growth, food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. In terms of strategy, we adopted social mobilization, comprehensive site development approach, directly engaging upland communities in the development of forest land areas. A commodity roadmap was designed and implemented in order to ensure species and site market matching that will sustain the planting activities. In the production forest areas, we planted timber and pewellwood species, high-value crops such as coffee, kakao, and rubber. It was the first time that we used high-value crops in our representation activities in partnership with upland communities. Our thinking is that these upland communities will protect these trees, as these will also provide them livelihood in the next three years. On the other hand, in the protection forest and protected areas, we planted endemic and endogenous tree species, including bamboo and retan, mangrove and beach forest species were planted in the coastal areas in partnership with coastal communities and local government units. The National Greening Program has established partnership with private companies, corporations, people's organizations, civil society organizations, local government units, and state universities and colleges, including government offices and institutions. We have attracted almost 10,000 partners nationwide. The program has also generated 4.2 million jobs and employed 550,000 persons, all coming from our upland communities and rural areas. As I speak in front of you today, a total of $944 million had been invested from 2011 until 2018 and $100 million more was proposed for 2019. From 2011 until 2018, a total of 1.9 million hectares of degraded and denuded forest land were planted and rehabilitated. Forest rehabilitation and forest protection are the key elements in the 70% commitment of the Philippines in the Paris Agreement ratified by the Philippine government on March 23, 2017. Forest accounts to 40% of the national determined contribution. We have refocus and intensified our efforts to protect our remaining natural forests. The marching order of our secretaries is that we will further intensify our efforts to protect our natural forests. Our forests and natural growing trees are better off standing in the forest than apprehended, but already cut by legal lagers and timber poachers. In order to expand our forest cover and enhance our carbon stock, we will be needing $900 million more in the next five years until 2022. And the same amount from 2022 till 2028. As per our projections, we'll be able to increase our forest cover from 32% to 36%. We'll be able to further increase the resilience of our upland communities, improve their means of livelihood. This will also lessen the threat of flooding and landslide in our lowland communities that's enhancing agricultural productivity. But we also have to invest more on advanced technology, not just on the planting and growing of trees, but also on satellite technology so that we will be able to account for every hectare planted and rehabilitated. In this way, we could account for every dollar spent coming from our taxpayers' money. On the long term, in order to ensure sustainability and gradually reduce the dependence of our communities from government, we have to invest in the development of social enterprise in the upland so that our upland farmers can become businessmen as well. We should be creating independent communities able to sustain themselves and become part of the value chain. Along this line, we need the private-bate sector as partners and civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations to assist our upland farmers. In order to sustain the game, the National Gaining Program was expanded until 2028, aligned with the Philippine Development Plan and the Philippine Forestry Master Plan. The program is our major intervention in order to achieve sustainable development goals is specifically goal one, no poverty, goal two, zero hunger, goal 13, climate action, goal 15, life on land, and goal 17, partnership to achieve the goal. While the implementation of the program are not without problems and difficulties, we are now documenting the testimonials of beneficiaries of upland communities in the IUNUS peoples, women's group, and upland households whose lives were improved as a result of the program. Communities are now empowered and transformed from being mere spectators to actual partners of government and implementers of the program. We in government are pleased by the economic games of the people in these upland communities. Farmers are able to sustain the schooling of their children, gaining knowledge from training, able to make investments on cooperative stores, community nurseries, and community transport vehicles. But more importantly, with the millions of dollars we have invested so far, we have 1.9 million hectares of new forest rehabilitated, protected and managed by empowered communities. We have increased our forest cover from 23% to 23%. Our upland communities are now more resilient, empowered, and productive citizens in a more functional forest ecosystem. Thank you and let us work and participate for a more successful Third Asia Pacific Rain Forest Summit. Thank you and good day.