1,000 QC volunteers tapped for cleanup of waterways

Quezon City Hall is marshalling the help of some 1,000 volunteers in a two-month program to clean up the city’s 41 streams, creeks and esteros.

"I am warning residents who carelessly throw their garbage into community waterways," said Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who will lead the Sagip-Batis (SB) volunteers program. "We are serious about this campaign and we will prosecute those who violate the law."

He said the program begins on March 31 and ends on May 31. Volunteers will be tapped from the 103 barangays of the city which have waterways in their jurisdictions.

The mayor said the Sagip-Batis program is anchored on the "spirit of volunteerism" adding that volunteers will be given a P150 a day meal allowance for a six-hour work from 6 a.m. to 12 noon.

He said he hopes the program will inspire the city’s residents to work hand in hand with the local government in keeping the city clean and green.

Frederika Rentoy, head of the city’s Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department, said the volunteers will also be tapped to monitor their respective barangay’s waste segregation scheme, the schedule of garbage collection as well as incidence of illegal waste disposal. She said volunteers must be bona fide residents of the community, are physically fit to work under all weather conditions, are of good moral character with proper recommendation from community leaders and are willing to serve.