Curiosity is what makes a person start doing something that interests him; inspiration to continue doing it but it is PASSION and DEDICATION that makes a person keep going despite the unfavorable circumstances that may come along with it. Between the Passion and Dedication, there is Choice which is fundamental to achieving success and ultimately self-fulfillment. These are what exactly Narisol Carbon-Divina possesses which helped her reach the apex of success.

Her enthusiasm in protecting the environment was developed at a very young age. Her family lives in a rural community in Pangasinan and owns a humble farm in the area where she and her siblings spent most of their growing years helping their parents manage their farmland. As a daughter of farmers, she was exposed to the practices and challenges of maintaining, conserving and improving their source of sustenance. No wonder that in her early years, she was able to acquire basic knowledge of economics, soils, hydrology, and plant taxonomy, among others. She was also taught the importance of the environment and the benefits it gives to people. Furthermore, she learned how to utilize the resources responsibly so that younger generations of the family may also enjoy those same resources.

Her interests in conservation, protection and management have not only confined to their farmland but also broadened so as to include forests. She briefly considered other career paths but her love for the environment prevailed. She wanted to become a steward of our forest resources and instill her knowledge of forestry into others through community immersion. With these, she decided to pursue BS Forestry at the University of the Philippines Los Banos in Laguna and earned a degree.

After passing the licensure exam, she found herself working at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as a forester in PENRO Sorsogon. From then, she knew, her life would be dedicated in protecting Mother Nature. Her work adventures in the deepest recesses of the mountains had never been a walk in the park. She and her team have always been dealing with different circumstances in the field. May it be interaction with wildlife, dealing with the community, or working in worst weather conditions. Despite those situations, she never dared to leave the Department. She loved her work, and loves it still. Her dedication is incommensurable, so strong that nothing could stop her from responding to the call of duty. While her job requires extreme laborious work, she still considers it as fun and rewarding for she is able to contribute to the environment’s wellness and gain insights and skills. Now 52 years old and 30 years in service, Narisol’s enthusiasm for the environment never faded. As a matter of fact, she is currently the Officer-in-Charge, CENR Officer of CENRO Guinobatan under the wing of PENRO Albay. Truly, her passion has led her to greater heights.

“I enjoyed my early years in the department just like a fresh grad would enjoy her first job. It was until I found out that working in the DENR means waking up at a very ungodly hour just to capture illegal loggers and apprehend illegally-obtained timber products”, CENRO Divina said. “That’s when I realized that this job is beyond caring for the environment” she added. This is true because being in the technical field, an employee is either trekking the most difficult terrains, crossing the longest river or immersing oneself in far-flung areas. But CENRO Divina appears to have beaten all the difficulties of doing all of these. She still hikes and monitors NGP Sites and Protected Areas with all her energy. Apart from these, she never leaves the office up until the last document of the day has been acted upon.

One of her personnel said, “CENRO Nari is an effective and efficient leader. When it comes to decision-making, she allows us to express our opinions and considers our suggestions. Although she is our boss who does not even need our approval on some matters, she still bring them to the table for us to be informed and to actively take part in the decision-making process. In doing so, we feel that we are not mere staffs under her who have no right to speak our minds rather free and valued personnel. Thus, she earned our respect and admiration. As an efficient leader, she makes every minute counts. I remember when we conducted assessment trail in Mt. Masaraga, after we braved the rain and trekked the muddy mountain for 5 hours making us dead tired, she went back to the Office and stayed longer to take action on the documents. She did not leave until the last document has been acted upon. She does not want the documents to sit on her table for so long.”

CENRO Divina’s staffs also describe her as someone who always face office targets with discipline. She makes sure that at the end of every quarter, employees do not only accomplish the physical target but learn from them as well. She always has that good side reserved for the welfare of her personnel. Moreover, she is best known as that petite supervisor who has a strong personality, resilient in every possible way, may it be work-related or personal matters. These values do not just make her one of the best supervisors but it also builds a strong working force in the office leading to several commendable awards for the past years.

CENRO Guinobatan under her supervision has been consistent with high performance rating from 2017 to present when in it comes to patents and deeds works. Yet, Land Management Inspector Celenia O. Broncate, one of the officials of Patents and Deeds Unit of the Office, was recognized as the Most Outstanding Employee by the Regional Office for CY 2018. Not only that, CENR Office has been wielding great efforts in LAWIN Forest and Biodiversity Protection monitoring assessment embarking the top 5 ranking. The Office was awarded as one of the DENR Eco-friendly Offices by EMB-V, and Best Stakeholder for 2017 Division Brigada Eskwela by School Division Office of Ligao City. This 2019, the Office has also been compliant to the submission of Means of Verifications (MOVs) for the performance assessment of Regional Key Officials for the conferment of the “Environmental Awards for Governance and Leadership Excellence (EAGLE)”.

Being in the public service is a lot of things, and CENRO Divina’s story of curiosity turned passion added with long-term dedication has inspired many to pursue the things that excites them and at the same time, something for the greater good. After all, our purpose as human beings is to live the life as we chose it and contribute something of significance to the society as a whole.###