More than 200 volunteers composed of employees from the Climate Change Commission (CCC), Nestlé Philippines, and GMA Network, and artists from SPARKLE GMA Artist Center (SPARKLE) volunteered to collect plastic and other wastes from the shore of Las Piñas Parañaque Critical Habitat & Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) last September 30, 2022.
A total of 1,307 kg of wastes were collected during the cleanup activity, which also marked the end of the National Cleanup Month in the country.
“Mahalaga ang pagtutulungan ng pamahalaan, media, at pribadong sektor upang maimulat ang kamalayan at mahikayatang ating mga kababayan na makilahok sa mga programangpangkalikasan at klima, gaya ng coastal cleanup,” said CCC Vice Chairperson and Executive Director Robert E.A. Borjeduring his opening remarks.
(Collaboration among the government, the media, and the private sector is important to raise awareness and to encourage our fellow Filipinos to participate in programs for the environment such as coastal cleanups.)
Given the fact that the Philippines has the fifth longest coastline in the world, conducting coastal cleanups is also a step towards a cleaner and more sustainable environment for every Filipino according to Borje.
At the same time, volunteering in initiatives like this is one way to see and experience the magnitude of the plastic problem in the country first-hand. Several studies have shown how cleanups and other participatory activities are more effective in raising public awareness towards environmental problems.
The cleanup activity is just one of the many initiatives lined up under the partnership forged between Nestlé Philippines and GMA Network. The said partnership aims to educate the public about their individual responsibility in caring for the planet through reducing, reusing, and recycling plastics, and encourage them to be more actively involved in the advocacy for the environment.
“It is very important for us to have our employees, our ambassadors, and our partners to physically do it. It is not just about spending the money to retrieve the plastic, but it is for all of us to feel the challenges we have ahead of us when it comes to plastic pollution, when it comes to sustainability, and how together we can make a difference,” said Nestlé Philippines Chairman and CEO Kais Marzouki.
