Lahug River as seen overhead near the Sudlon Bridge on Modista Gaisano Street, Barangay Lahug, Cebu City. The river is schedule for cleanup on by the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro). CDND Photo | Tonee Despojo
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Cebu City Environment Office (Cenro) is expecting more than 2,000 volunteers to help in the Lahug River clean-up on Saturday, March 9, 2019.
Cenro Head Nida Cabrera said that more people have volunteered for the Lahug clean-up compared to the previous clean-up in the Bulacao river last February 23, 2019, which only had 1,400 volunteers.
This time, the number is expected to rise as various schools have offered to help the clean-up.
Some of the schools that offered help are St. Theresa’s College, Don Bosco Technological College, and Southwestern University.
Read related story: Cebu’s Cenro goes all out with river cleanup drive
Cabrera said they will need the numbers since the Lahug River spans 16 kilometers and has three component branches leading to Barangays Tejero, T. Padilla, and Tinago.
“Mas taas siya kaysa sa Bulacao (River) kay kato straight ra nga 11 kilometers. Kini naa siyay mga splits,” said Cabreara.
Cabrera said that the Lahug River has more garbage compared to the Bulacao River because it is surrounded by commercial and residential areas.
Read related story: Clean-up of Bulacao river set on Feb. 22
The river may also take longer to clean and will actually need at least 5,000 volunteers to clean it.
She said that the barangays in Cebu City have also offered to help the clean-up drive as well by deploying volunteers or by cooking ‘lugaw’ to feed the volunteers.
“Amo sila giingnan nga magsayo ug mag-andam og bugas aron makaluto sa lugaw,” said Cabrera.
Read: EMB-7: Two Cebu City rivers considered as ‘dead’
Five stations will become the start-up points for the clean-up drive. These are Upper La Guerta, Sudlon, Lahug Bridge, Camputhaw Bridge, Echavez Bridge, and Tinago Bridge.
Cabrera hopes that the river-clean up in Lahug will make a difference in the rehabilitation of the river.
The Lahug and Bulacao rivers are the two rivers in Cebu City declared dead by the Environment Management Bureau in Central Visayas. /bmjo