Labella, Gullas to hold joint river cleanup in Bulacao

CEBU, Philippines — A joint cleanup drive will be conducted by the cities of Cebu and Talisay in Bulacao River, which was earlier declared dead by the Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas.

The activity—the schedule is yet to be finalized—will be spearheaded by the mayors of the two local government units.

Mayor Edgardo Labella will lead the Cebu City contingent while Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas on the side of Talisay City. At least 7,000 volunteers are expected to join the activity.

According to the City Community Environmental and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), the 6-kilometer downstream of the river needs the most help because of the high concentration of garbage.

CCENRO will be using floating devices to clean the deep parts of the river and also with the help of Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) headed by Harold Alcontin.

Lawyer John Jigo Dacua, CCENRO head, invites the public to join the Bulacao River cleanup drive.

“We encourage, especially to those living near the river na mutabang sa paglimpyo ug moundang na sa paghugaw sa atong Bulacao River,” Dacua said.

Dacua said they have yet to finalize the schedule but it will be announced soon.

This year, a number of cleanup drives in Bulacao River has been conducted by the different public and private sectors due to it being one of the highly polluted rivers in the city.

The EMB-7 declared Bulacao River dead in January this year because of high level contamination.  FPL (FREEMAN)