Pasig run focuses on drive for clean waterways

MANILA, Philippines - ABS-CBN Foundation’s Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP) holds the fourth edition of its advocacy run on Sept. 30 with its focus now on helping raise awareness and funds for the rehabilitation of waterways in Quezon City. 

KBPIP and the Quezon City government team up for the staging of the “09.30.2012 Run for the Pasig River” along Commonwealth Avenue, clamoring for cleaner rivers and esteros in Metro Manila.

KBPIP chief Gina Lopez and Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista were among those present during the event launch at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel yesterday.

This is now an even bigger event with the inclusion of the 15K Ride & Roll for bikers and skateboard enthusiasts. Gun start for this event is set at 4 a.m.

The two other main events are the 15K Commonwealth Challenge Run starting at 4:10 a.m. and the 5K Morning Madness Run at 6 a.m.

All three events start and finish at the Quezon City Memorial Circle.

Registration for the 09.30.2012 Run for the Pasig River is now ongoing in SM North EDSA, second floor Cinema C Lobby (near IMAX Theatre) and in SM Mall of Asia, Lower Ground Level, Building A (near The Event Center and Food Court) and SM Megamall, Ground Floor Main Mall (near Music Hall and SM Bowling Center).

Aside from the registration, there will also be merchandise available in the booths. For updates on this advocacy run, visit www.runforthe pasigriver.com.  

ABS-CBN Foundation’s Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig has got a track-record of organizing three successful runs for the Pasig River.

The 2009 Philippine International Marathon: A Run for the Pasig River, which had an estimated 23,000 participants, helped fund the initial phase of rehabilitation of Estero de Paco, a 2.9-kilometer tributary of the Pasig River in Manila. 

The historic 10.10.10 Run for the Pasig River, meanwhile, broke the Guinness World Record for the “most participants in a racing event” with 116,087 runners. It helped rehabilitate the second phase of the Estero de Paco clean-up. 

Last year’s 11.20.2011 Run for the Pasig River was the largest foot race joined by 86,547 runners. The funds generated from this event are currently being used to rehabilitate Estero de San Miguel and four other esteros behind the Malacañang Palace. 

KBPIP’s seven-year rehabilitation program involves cleaning up all the esteros that drain into the Pasig River. To date, the project has resettled 1,216 families to Calauan, Laguna, introduced remediation technologies for water quality improvement, trained community volunteers for the River Warriors program and shared sound waste management practices with communities. 

The 10.10.10 Run for the Pasig River won a Bronze Anvil and an Award of Excellence at the 45th Anvil Awards given by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines, while the Estero de Paco

clean-up earned an Award of Merit from the 2010 Philippine Quill Awards given by the International

Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines.