Shoring up Cordova’s coastal barangay: 1.5 tons of trash collected

Kicking off the observance of the International Coastal Cleanup Day this month, over 228 volunteers supported the coastal cleanup in Poblacion, Cordova last September 6, 2019 using the “Shore It Up” way of segregation, data collection and waste disposal. | Contributed Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – At total of 228 volunteers led by Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF) and Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC) recently gathered to collect trash that winded up in the coastal village of Poblacion in the Municipality of Cordova, Cebu.

Ahead of the observance of the International Coastal Cleanup Day (celebrated every third Saturday of September), MPIF President Melody del Rosario, CCLEC employees, as well as the Asian Carriers Conference Inc., Cordova Municipal Government officials and employees, and other stakeholders collected over 1.5 tons of garbage.

Plastic bottles made up 30 percent of the total collected trash during the Shore It Up activity, 10 percent were biodegradable wastes while the remaining 60 percent were residual wastes.

“Why should we care for our ocean? Our ocean provides countless benefits to our planet and all the creatures that live here. Food, medicine, climate regulation and transportation are among the benefits we derive from the ocean and basically what we need for our existence,” del Rosario said.

“Let us keep in mind that we are gradually creating a cleaner, safer, and better future for ourselves and the next generations with every piece of trash that we collect and, in this effort, no matter how small, will have lasting benefits to our very existence. Let’s clean up and let’s Shore It Up,” she added.

(L to R) Metro Pacific Investments Foundation President Melody del Rosario and Cordova Vice Mayor Ximgil Sitoy led volunteers during the coastal cleanup last September 6, 2019 that collected over 1.5 tons of garbage from the coastal barangay of Poblacion, Cordova. | Contributed Photo

Shore It Up is the corporate social responsibility project of the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) under MPIF. It focuses on underwater and coastal clean-up as its core activity.

Del Rosario then acknowledged the support of the local government of Cordova and other stakeholders for volunteering and elevating environmental consciousness, adding that such partnerships are crucial in the sustainability of what Shore It Up started in its partner communities.

“We cannot do this alone. We need the help of more people, more non-government organizations and civil organizations who share a common purpose with our MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, Shore It Up and MPIF,” she said.

Soon, Cordova will also be the home to the only Mangrove Propagation and Information Center in the Visayas region.

CCLEC is building and operating the 8.5-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) project, a toll bridge linking Cordova in Mactan Island to Cebu City through the South Road Properties.  CCLEC is building and will maintain and operate the toll bridge under a joint venture agreement with the local governments of Cordova and Cebu City.

Construction of CCLEX, which is going to be the first expressway in Cebu and to serve 50,000 vehicles daily, is in full swing and is expected to be completed by 2021.

CCLEC is a subsidiary company of Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the toll road arm of MPIC, a publicly listed infrastructure holding company and is a member of the MVP Group of Companies.

MPTC is the largest toll road concessionaire and operator in the Philippines, which expansion goals include establishing toll operations in the Visayas, other parts of the Philippines, and in neighboring countries notably Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. | dcb