More than 300 individuals from the different sectors in Baguio City and Benguet supported the cleanup drive of the Balili River in La Trinidad, Benguet on June 5.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Cordillera Executive Director Ralph Pablo led the cleanup drive, which is part of the nationwide simultaneous cleanup of rivers and tree planting activity in celebration of the World Environment Day being spearheaded by the DENR.
Participants in the cleanup include employees of the DENR-Cordillera and its attached agencies and offices from Baguio City and Benguet, personnel from the different government agencies, law enforcement agencies, Barangay Balili and the local government units of La Trinidad and Baguio City.
There were also participants from private companies and establishments in Baguio City and Benguet as well as students of higher education institutions and members of the community.
The Balili River covering Baguio City, La Trinidad, and Sablan was chosen as one of the sites for the cleanup drive because it has been designated as a Water Quality Management Area since in 2013.
Pablo and Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Cordillera Director Faye Apil and Grace Solano of the Environmental Management Bureau-Cordillera led a simple program with briefing about the activities at the DENR-Cordillera compound participated by DENR employees, personnel from the different line agencies, law enforcement agencies, and other volunteers.
Led by the United Nations Environment Program, the World Environment Day has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach.
This year’s theme focuses on solutions to plastic pollution under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution.
This calls for glo-bal solutions to combat plastic pollution. It is also a reminder that people’s actions on plastic pollution matters. – PIA
