Volunteers take part in coastal cleanup
By J.Lo
"Keeping sea and other bodies of water clean is imperative in helping our kababayans maintain their livelihood…let us make cleanliness part of our lifestyle," Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco said in statement, noting large portion of their population depends on fishing for livelihood thousands of volunteers joined country's efforts to be part of global initiative to protect world's oceans in International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) led simultaneous coastal cleanups in key areas in different parts of the country with estimated 35,000 volunteers from national and government agencies, academia, private sector and civil society joining in efforts.
Cleanup activities were held in Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park, Novaliches, Quezon City and Baseco Beach in Manila as well as in provinces of Bataan, Batangas, Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Zamboanga del Sur.
This year's ICC theme is "Clean Seas for Healthy Fisheries" and aligns with United Nations Ocean Decade Challenge 3 to "Sustainably Feed the Global Population."
Collected waste will be submitted to Ocean Conservancy and UN Ocean Decade to contribute to global efforts to combat plastic pollution.
In Navotas City, at least 700 government employees, barangay officials and staffers, teachers and representatives of private institutions and non-government organizations joined coastal cleanup drive in its 18 barangays.
Tiangco emphasized importance, with Navotas being coastal city, for their constituents to participate in community cleanup activities.
ICC Day is global event unites countries and people with common goal of resolving growing marine debris problem by maintaining cleanliness along shorelines, rivers, lakes and waterways. Philippines has been participating in global ICC activity since 1994, although it was only institutionalized through Presidential Proclamation 470 on Sept. 15, 2003, designated third Saturday of September as ICC Day.
Last year, estimated 249.382 metric tons of waste was collected, including cigarette butts, beverage bottles, food wrappers, bottle caps, grocery bags, food containers, cups and plates, straws and stirrers.
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