5,000 expected to join citywide cleanup drive

CEBU, Philippines — It’s all systems go for Cebu City’s first city-wide cleanup challenge for 2023 on Saturday, March 18.

"Clean as you go is a way of life,” is the theme for the upcoming event.

The Cebu City Coastal Management Task Force (CMTF) is expecting close to 5,000 participants this Saturday. They will be cleaning the city’s coastal areas and rivers.

Among the areas that will be focused are the Guadalupe River, Carretta, Mahiga, Tinago-Tejero Bridge, Kamputhaw River, Bulacao River, T. Padilla Market, Kamputhaw Bridge, Ermita, Pasil, SRP Tower, and the Il Corso area, among others.

The City Engineering Office, Department of General Services, and other relevant departments have also committed to make their equipment, especially dump trucks, available for the collection of trash gathered.

CMTF’s Reymarr Hijara, in an interview with The Freeman, said most of those who have signified their participation on Saturday are employees of the Cebu City Hall, barangay workers, government agencies, non-government organizations, private companies, religious groups, and different school organizations.

"Importante gyud kaayo ang pagtinabangay aron makab-ot ang kalimpyo sa atong lugar," Hijara said.

The city-wide clean-up drive is backed up by City Ordinance 1988 with the hope of preserving the environment. — Sanden J. Anadia, FPL (FREEMAN)