Mandatory cleanup drives eyed for residents along waterways

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City government is looking into several ways to stimulate cooperation from residents near the city’s waterways in cleanup efforts of the public and private sector.

This includes the possibility of making it mandatory for residents to join cleanup drives, after the city’s Task Force Gubat Sa Baha (TFGsB) have noticed uncooperativeness from the residents in previous activities.

In a debriefing recently of TFGsB following the latest City-wide cleanup attended by deputy river commanders, team leaders, and the river troopers, the group shared that in several cleanup drives of both public and private groups, those living along waterways have been the most uncooperative.

In a report recently released by TFGsB, it mentioned the observation that many of those living along the waterways do not not care about their surroundings, not thinking that they will be the first ones that will be affected when it floods.

With this, TFGsB recommended that a mandatory cleanup among the residents living along the city’s rivers and other waterways be made, if not, a mandatory participation in scheduled clean-up drives should be imposed.

TFGsB’s river troopers, team leaders, and deputy river commanders also shared other inputs that needed to be done to make the next “citywide river cleanup” more successful.

The next cleanup is set for September this year.

Although the last cleanup activity was able to collect and separate plastics, TFGsB felt there could be more plastics and other recyclables collected if residents, not only those living in the waterways, properly segregate their trash.

The lack of trucks to haul the garbage collected was also noted. There were those worried that their efforts will be put to waste if the trash would not be collected right away.

TFGsB is expected to submit its observations and recommendations to the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office CCENRO headed by Reymarr Hijara. –/ATO (FREEMAN)