CALOOCAN CITY, (PIA) -- Manila Mayor Maria Sheilah "Honey" Lacuna-Pangan and Vice Mayor Yul Servo Nieto led the simultaneous Nilad planting held in Manila Zoo and Intramuros, Tuesday, September 27, 2022.

The ceremonial Nilad planting is a joint project of the city and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Ecosystem Research Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB).

According to the city government, the program aims to plant, to grow, and to protect Nilad plant against its extinction.

It is the continuation of the Nilad for Maynila Project that was launched in 2020 to repopulate the city with this plant that is also considered as its icon.

Nilad is a stalky rice plant with yellow and white flowers that used to be abundant at the southern part of the Pasig River.

It is also where the city got its name "May Nilad" or "there is Nilad" in English.

Apart from its cultural and heritage importance due to the fact that the city got its name from it, this activity is conducted as a means to protect the environment.

"The Nilad for Maynila Project is mutually beneficial to us as we have achieved the re-greening of our city's coastline," said Manila Mayor Dr. Lacuna.

She also thanked all those who participated in the event including the different departments of the city and the candidates of Manhunt International and invited them to the Nilad Festival that will be held on June 2023. (Manila PIO/PIA-NCR)