CLEANUP RIVERS AND CREEKS DRIVES IN CEBU!

I found this recent article about a River/Creek Cleanup Drive in Cebu City! I am very excited to see something is being done about the filth in Cebu City's rivers and creeks! HOPE!!!!

Coastline management board to launch cleanup drives in different barangays
From Sun Star, March 21, 2009

IN hopes of getting people to stop throwing garbage into rivers and creeks, the Cebu Coastline Management Board (CMB) will launch a coastal and urban cleanup drive today in different barangays in Cebu City.

“While it is impossible to clean up the rivers in just one cleanup, the intention of the activity is to make people aware that it is important to start. Grabe na gyud ang condition sa atong mga rivers (Our rivers are in critical condition),” said Atanacio Almosera of the CMB.

At least 53 of 80 barangays in the city will participate in the event, simultaneously cleaning up rivers and creeks in their communities.

“All the barangays with rivers and creeks will be actively participating in the event,” said Cebu City Councilor Edwin Jagmoc, vice chairman of the CMB.

“And we hope that those people who live along the rivers and riverbanks will see the clean-up and will start cleaning up the rivers themselves,” he added.

Schools, parishes, barangay officials, residents and different non-government organizations are expected to join the activity.

“This will educate our volunteers on the real state of the rivers and hopefully this will also educate those who live nearby,”
said Jagmoc.

The CMB stressed it was important that everybody start taking better care of rivers and creeks in their barangays.

“I cannot describe to you how bad it already is. Let’s just put it this way, if you imagine a garbage dump in a river, there’s already more garbage than there is water,” said Almosera.

However, he clarified it was not because of poor solid waste management programs in the barangays, but just the accumulation of trash over several years.

Some riverbank households share part of the blame.

“Instead of disposing of the garbage at the designated pick-up points for garbage collection, they throw garbage into the rivers instead,” said Department of Public Services Chief Dionisio Gualiza.

“We just cannot allow the garbage to flow into the sea and affect life there,” Jagmoc said. (EPB)