Thousands join cleanup drive in Cavite
KAWIT, Cavite: Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr., CESO 3 Director Ariel Iglesia, and local officials in this town led thousands of volunteers during the “Kalinga at Inisyatiba para sa Malinis na Bayan” cleanup drive on Saturday morning, February 24.
The cleanup was conducted in Barangay Samala-Marquez, Binakayan, Kawit.
Local officials led by Mayor Angelo Emilio Aguinaldo and other stakeholders including volunteers joined Abalos in cleaning creeks and their respective houses to ensure the protection of their community and the environment in general.
Abalos urged every member of the community to be a partner of the government in cleaning and repairing the environment.
He also encouraged the LGUs to invest in programs, projects, and activities related to solid waste management and other ecological tactics.
Under the Kalinisan program, the DILG will implement the Barangay at Kalinisan Day (Barkada).
Every week, villages, in partnership with the private sector and youth volunteers ,will clean their respective houses and promote “segregation-at-source policies.”
“We encourage each and every Filipino to make cleanliness a habit, from their houses to the whole community, and practice segregation of wet waste, recyclables, biodegradable and nonbiodegradable,’ said Abalos in an interview.
“Our target is zero waste,” he added.
Among those who participated in the cleanup were 22 barangay officials in Kawit, teachers, students, personnel of the Philippine National Police, DILG, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection-Cavite, and nongovernmental organizations.