Sacks of trash collected from river

CEBU, Philippines - In a bid to keep Cebu City’s biggest river clean, some 300 youths and mothers joined former Department of Trade and Communications Undersecretary Aristotle Batuhan yesterday in cleaning a stretch of the Guadalupe river to mark International Youth Day.

The volunteers gathered at the Guadalupe Church at 8am and proceeded to the portion of the river behind the Visayan Glass factory at 9am. For two hours, the volunteers were able to gather dozens of sacks of garbage.

Aside from the Abante Barangay Youth that Batuhan himself organized, the activity also attracted members of Akbayan Youth, Kauban, Instrumental Independent Clan, and Yakap Inc.

Batuhan also took advantage of the activity to announce the start of an online petition that seek to encourage Filipinos to pledge not to throw garbage recklessly.

“The recent floods in Metro Manila again demonstrated to all Filipinos that the rubbish disposed irresponsibly at the country’s national capital region returned with a vengeance,” Batuhan said.

He says signing the pledge would mean that the person knows the consequences of throwing garbage recklessly and would manifest to change the attitude.

“The junk food wrapper that we toss out the car window. The empty can we throw over our backyard fence. The gum we stick under the seat. These acts — and most likely only the individual knows what is happening — shows personal irresponsibility,” the petition stated.

Batuhan recalled that during two coastal cleanups earlier this year, a huge volume of garbage reaching the sea came from the Guadalupe River. The river divides the South and North of Cebu City.

Guadalupe itself is Cebu City’s biggest barangay.Batuhan says the Philippines is in an area visited by more than 20 typhoons each year, thus, government should get its act together.

Last week’s floods in Metro Manila was partly caused by waterways clogged by garbage, Batuhan said. “Let’s not wait for a similar tragedy especially in Cebu.” — (FREEMAN)