Bulacan river cleanup gains full steam

MANILA, Philippines - The target one million trees by December of the mangrove tree-planting project in Obando, Bulacan is gaining full steam, as it hit the mark of 200,000 mangrove saplings already planted.

In sync with President Aquino’s Executive Order 26 or the National Greening Program being implemented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) under the leadership of Secretary Ramon Paje, the mangrove tree-planting project in Obando is also a major component of the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System (MMORS) cleanup drive.

Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado led the launching of the MMORS cleanup drive recently in an effort to eventually erase the name of the Bulacan river from the New York-based Blacksmith Institute’s list of 30 of the world’s dirtiest rivers.

The campaign is also the province’s response to the writ of kalikasan and the writ of continuing mandamus promulgated by the Supreme Court last year to rehabilitate the Manila Bay in general and the cleanup of all adjacent rivers in particular.

The cleanup program topped the agenda of the MMORS-Water Quality Management Area Governing Board chaired by DENR-Environmental Management Bureau director Lormelyn Claudio and co-chaired by Alvarado.

Also part of the board are Obando Mayor Orencio Gabriel who will be hosting the Obando sanitary landfill where all the dirt and garbage that will be dredged from the river will be accommodated, and Mayors Joan Alatilla and Epifanio Guillermo of Meycauayan and Marilao towns, respectively.

Alvarado also invited Mayors Sherwin Gatchalian (Valenzuela City), Recom Echiverri (Caloocan City) and Tito Oreta (Malabon City) to take part in the river cleanup program.

The mangrove tree-planting project in Obando is a concerted effort of the provincial government, the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office under Elizardo Alberto, Bulacan Environment and Natural Resources Office under lawyer Rustico de Belen, the municipal government of Obando, the Municipal Agriculture Office of Obando, Barangay Salambao under chairperson Zenaida Sarmiento, the DENR-EMB, and Ecoshield Development Corp. represented by architect Rafael Tecson.

Around 200,000 mangrove saplings were already planted in nurseries in Barangay Salambao, and the project proponents are optimistic that they will be able to achieve the target of one million trees planted by December.