Villar lauds massive support for Manila Bay cleanup
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2019 08:08:33 +0000
A CHILD enjoys playing with his cat on clean shoreline of Manila Bay, a day after the government led an inter-agency cleanup campaign marking the start of the bay rehabilitation project on Sunday. (Czar Dancel)
SENATOR Cynthia Villar on Monday lauded the influx of volunteers who are taking part in the inter-agency campaign to clean up Manila Bay.
Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said the government’s so-called “Battle for Manila Bay” campaign has provided the needed boost to volunteers who have committed to help in rehabilitating the famous landmark.
More than 5,000 participants, mostly personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other government agencies, reportedly joined the launch of the Manila Bay rehabilitation project on Sunday.
Some 45.59 tons or 11 truckloads of garbage were collected by participants during the clean-up drive.
“Nakakatuwa na mas marami na ngayon ang involved sa paglilinis ng Manila Bay. Dati pare-parehong mukha ang nandiyan. Nagpapasalamat ako dahil sa inter-agency effort na ito, mas marami ang nakaalam kung gaano kagrabe ang sitwasyon ng Manila Bay ngayon at mas marami ang na-engganyo na tumulong,” Villar said in a statement on Monday.
She likewise commended the DENR for issuing cease and desist orders against establishments found to be violating environment laws.
The senator, who was recently awarded by the DENR for “championing the Manila Bay Rehabilitation cause,” recalled that the Supreme Court (SC) in 2008 had mandated several agencies, led by the DENR, to clean up and rehabilitate Manila Bay.
With the campaign, Villar said “the government is bent on improving the quality of water” in the bay which now has a coliform level of 330 million MPN.
Meanwhile, Villar also called on water concessionaires to speed up the construction of sewerage treatment plants for the proper disposal of wastewater in Metro Manila. (Vanne Terrazola)