The Mahiga Creek is one of eight Cebu City waterway to be cleaned tomorrow, September 19, which is part of the massive cleanup drive of the government. It is also part of the International Cleanup Coastal Day. | file photo — courtesy of Probe team
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Eight sites mostly mouths of rivers or major rivers and waterways in Cebu City will undergo a massive cleanup or will be simultaneously cleaned tomorrow, September 19, 2020.
This activity is in line with the International Coastal Clean-up Day and a massive cleanup of different waterways in the country will be undertaken with various local government units expected to clean their coastal areas as well.
In Cebu City, the massive cleanup drive will be done by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas (DENR-7) and the Cebu City government.
The eight waterways to be cleaned in the city include Mahiga Creek, Tejero Creek, Lahug River, Guadalupe River, Bulacao River, and the shorelines of the South Road Properties and in Barangay Mambaling.
According to Lormelyn Claudio, director of the Environment and Management Bureau of the DENR-7, the cleanup in Cebu City was an order from Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, himself.
Cimatu stayed in Cebu for over a month to lead the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response after a spike in cases.
The secretary was concerned with the polluted rivers especially the Mahiga Creek and the coastal areas in Barangay Mambaling.
“We were ordered na linisin talaga ang mga rivers dito sa Cebu and we are committed to that,” said Claudio.
(We were ordered to clean the rivers here in Cebu and we are committed to that.)
Meanwhile, Reymar Hijara, the sub committee chairperson for the Cebu Coastal Management Task Force, said that the city government had provided backhoes, payloaders, and trucks for the cleanup.
Furthermore, private companies also offered their heavy equipment for the activity.
Barangays near the clean-up areas also had their residents volunteer as manpower for the activity.
A launching ceremony will be conducted at the Il Corso mall at the SRP at 5 a.m., and the cleanup is expected to be finished before noon.
Claudio also urged residents to contribute to the International Coastal Cleanup Day by cleaning their own canals at home and the rest of their surroundings.
“We can contribute in many small ways kahit na hindi tayong lahat pwedeng dumalo sa coastal clean-up dahil sa pandemic,” she said.
For his part, Vice Mayor Michael Rama, who strongly advocates for environment protection in the city, said the cleanup was just the beginning of the city’s rehabilation of the rivers to make them sustainable for the future.
Rama said that the city planned to make massive cleanups a quarterly activity, but a more sustainable weekly cleanup led by the barangays would continue throughout the year.
“Tomorrow is just a start of many clean-ups,” he said./dbs