Over 2,000 volunteers beat the sunrise on Friday morning,
February 22, to participate in the clean-up drive at the Abatan River as part
of the simultaneous river clean-up in 10 rivers in Central Visayas.
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| Volunteers helped clean litter and debris at various
river and stream sites in Bohol province on Friday, Feb. 22 as part of Department of Environment and Natural Resources \(DENR)’s Simultaneous River Clean-Up Drive in Central Visayas. Photo by Leo Udtohan |
Among the volunteers were students of Bohol Island
University (BISU) and employees of the Alturas Group of Companies who came to
respond to the call of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in
Central Visayas (DENR-7) for volunteers.
They helped clean litter and debris in Abatan River in Cortes
town, Inabanga River in Inabanga town and Manaba River in Garcia
Hernandez.
Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer
(PENRO) Charlie Fabre said the activity was in line with the “RIVERs for Life”
Program of DENR.
Fabre said the rivers and streams in Bohol are already
Type B and C rivers which indicates that these rivers are no longer safe for
drinking or bathing.
“This is a great event because everybody cares about
cleaning up trash, everybody cares about cleaning up the rivers,” said Emmie
Roslinda of PROCESS (Participatory Research, Organization of Communities and
Education towards Struggle for Self-Reliance).
Roslinda added the event was to show the community the
importance of rivers in Bohol.
“It’s a good time for a good cause,” said Guy Bernaldez
from the Alturas Group of Companies with other 61 volunteers from the company.
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| Using a kayak to clean the Bacong River headwaters in
Cortes town in Bohol province on Friday, volunteer Rey Anthony Chiu of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-Bohol collected plastic bottles and bags, discarded nets, assorted cellophane wrappers, rubber slippers and Styrofoam food packs. Friday’s activity was part of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) simultaneous river clean-up drive in Central Visayas. Photo by Leo Udtohan |
Rivers in Bohol--Abatan River in Cortes and Maribojoc
towns, Loay River in Loay town and Loboc River in Loboc town --are famous
attractions in Bohol. These serve as the habitat of fireflies and highlight the
life of the Boholanos.
Although rivers and streams in Bohol are still-healthy compared
to other provinces, volunteers still scraped tons of trash.
“Plastic bottles and bags, discarded nets, assorted
cellophane wrappers, rubber slippers and Styrofoam food packs, that’s most of
what we find,” said Rey Anthony Chiu of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA)
along with other volunteers who used kayaks to collect garbage at streams.
The country is facing a major environmental problem which
may result in unhealthy living conditions, according to Fabre.
He admitted that a number of rivers in the country were
biologically dead, destroyed by fecal coliform.
He is encouraging the public to take a ‘bold’ step in
protecting the rivers and join the movement to save them.
“Every month activity na ito. Yung sustainability
dapat mag-start not for DENR but to start from within sa mga tao sa Bohol,” he
said. “Dapat gawing normal activity para walang basura na papunta sa river o
walang waste na papunta doon sa river para sigurado na malinis yung tubig
natin.”
