THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources-National Capital Region (DENR-NCR) office will be holding clean-up activities in five coastal areas in Metro Manila on Sept. 18 in line with the annual International Coastal Clean-up.
The DENR-NCR public affairs office told BusinessWorld that its personnel will be conducting clean-ups in Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park, Tanza Marine Tree Park, Baywalk in Roxas Boulevard, the Gloria Maris area at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Roxas Boulevard, and Navotas covering Barangays Tangos North and the South Coastal Area.
The department said the general public can also participate in this year’s coastal clean-up by managing their household trash. Gatherings are still discouraged by the government amid the continuing coronavirus surge.
“We have to adapt with the new normal, so citizens here in Metro Manila can (celebrate) the international clean-up in their own homes… (By doing this), we are protecting communities from going out and practicing social distancing measures with this ‘clean-up in a bubble’ arrangement,” DENR-NCR Assistant Regional Director for Management Services Al O. Orolfo told BusinessWorld in a phone call last week.
He added that the public can record their progress through a public Google form made available by the DENR-NCR. Volunteers must send a message to the office first before they can access the form.
“The data submitted by the participant(s) will be analyzed and used for informing policy decisions and interventions on solid waste management and marine pollution,” the DENR-NCR said in a Facebook post.
The ICC is organized by international non-government organization Ocean Conservancy Org and has been running for more than 35 years. It aims to galvanize communities to collect trash along waterways to lessen ocean pollution. It is held in the Philippines every third Saturday of Sept.
based on Presidential Proclamation No. 470 signed by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. — Angelica Y. Yang