By: Clarence De Guzman
BULACAN, Philippines – Over 4,000 volunteers from different sectors participated in the clean up of Manila bay walk Dolomite beach, spearheaded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on September 17,in celebration of the International Coastal Clean up (ICC) day 2022.
Volunteers from different sectors gathered in Manila Baywalk Dolomite beach , on Saturday September 17 , to take part in the International Coastal Clean up (ICC) Day. (Photo courtesy of Dennis Gutierrez of INQUIRER.net)
On September 17, there were 4,000 volunteers from different sectors who attended and participated in the clean up of Manila baywalk.
The DENR lead the cleanup in Manila Bay Dolomite Beach,this activity is one of the eight day clean up activities in Metro Manila in the observance of ICC day with the theme of ‘Fighting For Trash Free Seas- Pilipinas: Ending the Flow of Trash at the Source’ this is a annual event conducted every third Saturday of September.
Tons of different waste
According to DENR – Metropolitan Environmental Office (MEO) West OIC Director Rodelina de Villa, the collected garbage consisted mostly of plastic wastes, dried water hyacinth, and marine debris.
DENR- MEO - West who are assigned to check the maintenance of 500 meter beach walk, their data shows that 147, 939 sacks of solid waste have been collected in several clean up activities held from July 12 to September 14,2022.
In the said period, a total of 83,109 sacks of water hyacinth or also known as water plants were collected , including 2,224 sacks of marine debris.
Volunteers brings sacks and trash bags
“Volunteers from government , private organizations, and private individuals came to the Baywalk’s coastline with their own garbage bags as well,” Director De Villa said.
De Villa also said that the DENR Central Office through the Manila Bay Coordinating Office (MBCO) were provided 3,000 sacks , apart from this 1,500 trash bags came from the DENR National Capital Region, which includes the DENR-MEO west.
Along with the help of participating national and local government agencies and private organizations, which includes the Manila City government, Metro Manila Development Authority( MMDA) , Philippine Army (PA) , Philippine Air Force (PAF) ,Philippine National Police (PNP) , PNP Maritime Group, and Philippine Coast Guard aside from volunteerings, they also bring additional trash bags.
Also the Maynilad Water Services Inc., Manila Water Company Inc., and the Dragon Boat Federation of the Federation of the Philippines also participated in the clean up activity.
Dolomite Beach and its continues Criticism
Philippine government spends P389 million to fill Manila Bay’s gray shoreline stretching of 500 meters with crushed dolomite— it is an anhydrous carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate that transported from Cebu province to Manila.
Back then, Manila Bay beautification also earned many disagreements from UP experts and from some senators, such as Nancy Binay, Risa Hontiveros and Leila De Lima, calling on the DENR to stop the beautification project.
DENR posted a “public advisory” on its Facebook page inviting the public to take part in the International Coastal Clean up (ICC) Day, but it earned numerous comments of criticism on different social media platforms.
“The government spends millions on a vanity project then expects the people to volunteer for free to clean it up” - netizen Dave Trimanez commented on the said post. According to the National coordinator of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, Jon Bonifacio, that it was important to clean up trash washed up on shores but “clean up drives like this risk just being photo opportunities for our public officials,” he said .
The fruit of hard work and collaboration
“However big and daunting the task is, we can make a difference by bringing communities and people together to clean up beaches. Proof of this are organizations and individuals coming together at the Baywalk Dolomite Beach,” de Villa said.
De Villa also pointed out that the Manila Baywalk reflects the collaboration among all sectors that is necessary to address coastal litter through targeted beach cleanup activities.
KEYWORDS:
Dolomite Beach
DENR
Manila Bay
Clean Up Activities
International Coastal Clean-up Day 2022
ICC Day 2022
Metro-Manila
Baywalk Dolomite Beach
DENR- National Capital Region
Baywalk Dolomite Beach
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