Cenro Chief: Lack of discipline caused Guadalupe River’s dismal state

A portion of the Guadalupe River located near the B. Rodriguez Bridge was much cleaner after the two-hour river clean-up held this morning, August 17. | Delta Dyrecka Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The 5, 000 volunteers who joined the Guadalupe River clean-up this morning, August 17, collected at least 21 tons of garbage.

But Lawyer John Jigo Dacua, head of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro), said that this was not enough. The bigger challenge, Dacua said, was how to keep the river’s cleanliness and prevent garbage from being thrown into the water body in the coming days.

If cleanliness is sustained, the already biologically dead river may also be revived in the future.

Read More: Guadalupe river rehabilitation project kicks off with clean-up drive

“Grabe ka hugaw. Makita gyod ang kakuwang sa disiplina sa mga tawo nga namuyo kilid niining sapa,” said Dacua.

(The river is very dirty. This is a reflection of the lack of discipline of the residents along the riverbank.)

Dacua said it was very frustrating that some riverbank residents continued to dispose their garbage into the river even with the presence of City Hall officials and volunteers during the river clean-up this morning.

Read More: After Guadalupe River, a clean-up drive of Mahiga Creek will follow in September 2019

He called on the Cebu City Environmental Sanitation Enforcement Team (Ceset) to intensify the issuance of citations for violation of the city’s anti-littering ordinance which imposes fines raging from P1, 000 to P50, 000.

At least two riverbank occupants were issued citation tickets this morning while several others were fined for the disposal of untreated water into the river.

Dacua said that while they do river cleanups, there was also a need to monitor the activities of riverbank occupants and educate them against the indiscriminate disposal of their wastes as part of the river rehabilitation program.

Guadalupe River cleanup, he said, is not only a responsibility of the city government but also of riverside occupants. /dcb