The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) has announced plans to clean up and rehabilitate the Tagburos River system that faces threats due to mercury mine tailings, sanitary landfill residues, and wastewater discharges from surrounding residential homes.
CENRO officer-in-charge Felizardo Cayatoc said the short-term plan that will be implemented includes the rehabilitation of its riverbanks which will see the planting of bamboo trees and other indigenous plant species to prevent or minimize erosion.
Cayatoc said this Friday, March 22, during the simultaneous MIMAROPA river clean up whose concept was “Water for All, Now and ForRiver” and the celebration of the World Water Day 2019 under the theme “Hawak Kamay, Tubig ay Kaagapay; Sa Tubig ay Walang Iwanan.”
“Actually, we have many rivers in Puerto Princesa and in Palawan dahil sa isla ito, pero dito, we have chosen the Tagburos River which is currently facing threats. Ito kasi adjacent ito sa landfill natin, adjacent ito sa pit lake, adjacent sa river natin dito ay mga residential houses at mga farmlands that pose threats sa ating river,” he said.
Cayatoc also added an awareness drive will be done too in Tagburos to caution residents against the use of plastics that could harm their environment.
He said since plastics are non-biodegradable, they can make lands less fertile, chokes the river, and harms the marine life.
“‘Yong akala mo na pagtatapon lang ng plastic sa ilog ay walang epekto ay meron pala sa mga marine life. Kapag apektado sila, apektado rin ang mga tao,” he said.
The rehabilitation of the river in Tagburos, he added, does not mean setting aside the rehabilitation of other river systems in the city.
After Tagburos, CENRO will also lead the rehabilitation of the Irawan, Montible, and Bacungan river systems.
On Friday, employees of the CENRO in Puerto Princesa trooped the coastal village of Tagburos over 100 river cleaners and volunteers to participate in the regionwide activity.
Cayatoc said the simultaneous activity in the region is in line with Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu’s “marching order” to conduct regular cleanups in beaches, rivers, creeks, lakes, and other bodies of water that are important wildlife species habitats.
In a statement sent earlier, the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said numerous individuals, local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs), the academe, religious groups, and even multinational companies have signified support to the simultaneous river cleanup drive.
In Palawan, the synchronized clean up activity was also done in Abongan River in Taytay, Sitio Manggahan 1 and 2 and Bakawan Creeks in Coron, Buligay River in Brooke’s Point, Umalad River in Roxas, and Panitian River in Quezon.
In the MIMAROPA, it was held in Sabang River (Sablayan) and Pandurucan River (San Jose) in Occidental Mindoro; Calapan River in Oriental Mindoro; Boac River in Marinduque and Bangon-Bongoy River in Romblon.
