CITY JOINS INTERNATIONAL CLEAN-UP DRIVE OF RIVERS, ESTEROS, COASTAL AREAS

DAGUPAN CITY – Close to 4,000 people composed of city hall employees, barangay family, school teachers, volunteers, students and servicemen took part in the International Clean-Up Drive initiated by the Ocean Conservancy on September 19 here.

Ocean Conservancy is a non-governmental environmental advocacy group which protects ocean and marine life. The clean-up drive is observed yearly every month of September in order to clean the sea from tons upon tons of garbage being recklessly dumped every year.

Three coastal areas, 20 river areas and creeks were simultaneously cleaned through the spirit of volunteerism.

“We were really surprised by the number of volunteers who joined the clean-up drive. We overshot our target of only around 300 to 400 volunteers for today’s activity,” said City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Ronald De Guzman.


Mayor Belen T. Fernandez speaheaded the campaign at the Tondaligan Park before visiting Barangay Pugaro where from  300 to 400 coconut trees were simultaneously planted along the coast of Pugaro by  officers and members of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants-Pangasinan Chapter led  by City Budget Officer Luz De Guzman.

All 31 barangays, along with the local media, schools, colleges and universities, non-government organizations and the DILG family, participated in the drive. (Joseph C. Bacani/CIO/Sept. 19, 2015)