Dirty Manila Bay cleaned of trash

Responding to the clarion call of protecting the marine environment, 10,000 participants showed up yesterday at the Manila Bay to get the trash off the shore as part of the annual International Coastal Cleanup Day.

At 8 a.m., shortly after the kick off ceremony, they took part in the coastal cleanup, armed with gloves, sticks, rakes, and garbage disposal bags, to pick up trash before it was swept into Manila Bay.

“The trash is not as plenty similar to those last year because it is not high tide,” PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo said.

The so-called Filipino ecowarriors, who volunteered for the cleanup campaign, collected thousands of plastic bags of garbage littering the shorelines.

Glass and plastic bottles, cigarette butts, beverage containers, and eating utensils were among the items collected.

Balilo pointed out the garbage collected from the shore came from illegal dwellers, specifically living in Parola, Tondo, dumping garbage into the water.

“They were the major contributory of the trash,” he said.

The coastal cleanup has been held for three decades now, growing larger each year as more volunteers join the campaign.

The Philippine Coast Guard Auxilliary, along with the Manila city government and other sectors, carried out the cleanup as part of the 30th annual International Coastal Cleanup in Manila Bay on Roxas Boulevard.

But Balilo highlighted the coastal cleanup is a collective effort and should be a “constant” activity more than just a one-day event.

Before the event, around 9,000 volunteers signed up but there were an additional 1,000 people more who came during the actual cleanup.

He said these volunteers were composed of students, government and non-government organization workers, members of the PCGA, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Philippine National Police, among others.

Manila Mayor Joseph E. Estrada was the guest speaker in the event.