MORE than a thousand volunteers gathered last Saturday for a drainage cleanup along Maximo Patalinghug Avenue in barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City.
Armed with cleaning tools, combined teams worked as early as 5 a.m. until noon. They came from the Philippine Air Force, Philippine National Police, Philippine Navy, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection,
Solid Waste Manage Office and City Engineer’s Office, along with students, Mactan Export Processing Zone employees and barangay officials.
Volunteers opened the drainage culverts to remove sediment and garbage clogging the pipes.
Volunteers were able to collect about five truckloads of waste.
Trucks of the City Engineering Office and Solid Waste Management Office (SWMO) were used to transport the collected waste.
During the half-day activity, at least 13 establishments were found releasing wastes in the city’s drainage system. They were issued citation tickets by the SWMO.
Though the penalties were minimal, the establishments were warned not to repeat the violation or else face higher penalties and risk the non-renewal of their business permit.
“Ato ning tinuig nga cleanup diri sa barangay Basak kay mao ni ang pinakaubos nga area sa tanang barangay ug grabe sab ang baha dinhi ilabi na kung ting-ulan (This is our yearly cleanup in Basak which is the lowest-lying area of all the barangays in Lapu-Lapu. Flooding here could get worse during rainy days),” said Basak barangay captain Isabelo Darnayla.
Darnayla thanked all the volunteers who responded to the call and committed to this annual cleanup.