Friday, May 29, 2009
Pasig River clean up project launched
|
Power Vegetables In A Drink |
|
The ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) yesterday formally launched the "Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig" a massive cleanup project that aims to rehabilitate the polluted 24-kilometer long Pasig River.
AFI Managing Director Regina Paz "Gina" Lopez said the project will take seven years to complete and will involve the support of not only the private sector and local government units but also the media as well.
"No matter how much money you spend to clean the river, the river is still going to be dirty. We have to change the way we look at the river. We should use the media to awaken the consciousness and the reverence that people should have for the Pasig River," Lopez said at the project's launching at the Makati Park and Garden in Guadalupe.
Mayors Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City, Alfredo Lim of Manila, JV Ejercito of San Juan, Marides Fernando of Marikina, Jejomar Binay of Makati, Ben Hur Abalos of Mandaluyong, Sigfrido Tinga of Taguig, and Vicente Eusebio of Pasig pledged their support for the project.
Others who also vowed to help were the Manila Water Co., Maynilad Water Services Inc., the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, ABS-CBN, Deparment of Science and Technology, and Deparment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Seretary Lito Atienza.
Goldilocks Bakeshop donated P6 million, while Vice President Noli de Castro promised the support of the national Housing Authority in his capacity as the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.
"Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig" is a product of a memorandum of agreement between AFI and DENR, through PRRC, which makes the AFI - Bantay Kalikasan and the DENR co-managers of the Pasig River Rehabilitation project.
The project aims to achieve a zero toxic input into the Pasig River including tributaries
esteros, and creeks leading to it. The project also aims to raise at least P700 million to acquire the technology and meet operational expenses to clean the river within seven years.
Under the project, focus is on the cleanup of an initial 10 esteros that flow towards the four major tributaries in San Juan, Marikina, Taguig, Pateros and Napindan. There are 47 major and minor tributaries in the metropolis, for which the Pasig River serves as the catch basin.
Under the project, the PRRC, AFI and their partner organizations aims to revive the polluted Pasig River through "clean river zones" where the discharge of toxic waste will be lessened or stopped with the use of community-based facilities for the treatment of solid and water wastes.
Lopez added that the project aims to treat water flowing into the Pasig River with the use of catchments and filtration systems and bioremediation. Bioremediation is the process that uses microorganism, fungi, green plant of their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition.
The project has begun the fist phase of its seven - year program, which focuses on the relocation of informal settlers living on the banks of the Pasig River and contribute heavily to the river's pollution.
A study by the PRRC shows that 60 percent of the garbage dumped in Pasig River comes from households and 35 percent from industries.
Under the "Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig" about 1,100 informal settlers living along the Pasig River will be relocated to a resettlement site in Calauan, Laguna by June. In the relocation site, the informal settlers will be provided by private sponsors with housing, education and health facilities and livelihood assistance.
The project also aims to relocate 4,040 informal settlers from Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Tondo, Manila, Makati-Guadalupe Viejo, Pasig, and Taguig.
ABS-CBN chairman and chief executive officer Eugenio Lopez III added that ABS-CBN will be heavily contributing to the success of the project.
"Other AFI programs like Bayanijuan, Bantay Bata 163, Bantay Kalikasan, Sagip Kapamilya, Bayan Micro-Finance, and E-Media will also take part. Everybody’s working together so the settler will be happy to transfer to the resettlement sites,” Lopez said.
According to Lopez, the Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia which has not yet cleaned up its major rivers, such as the Pasig.
"All the other Asian countries have solved their problems regarding the rivers that run through them," he said.
Meanwhile, Gina Lopez called on the private sector, the military and the national government to lend their support to the project.
"Just imagine if we succeed in cleaning the Pasig River, this can be a model for all the endangered river systems in the country. We're sending a signal to everybody else that you need to revere the river because it is not your toilet bowl, it is your life." she said.
AFI Managing Director Regina Paz "Gina" Lopez said the project will take seven years to complete and will involve the support of not only the private sector and local government units but also the media as well.
"No matter how much money you spend to clean the river, the river is still going to be dirty. We have to change the way we look at the river. We should use the media to awaken the consciousness and the reverence that people should have for the Pasig River," Lopez said at the project's launching at the Makati Park and Garden in Guadalupe.
Mayors Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City, Alfredo Lim of Manila, JV Ejercito of San Juan, Marides Fernando of Marikina, Jejomar Binay of Makati, Ben Hur Abalos of Mandaluyong, Sigfrido Tinga of Taguig, and Vicente Eusebio of Pasig pledged their support for the project.
Others who also vowed to help were the Manila Water Co., Maynilad Water Services Inc., the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, ABS-CBN, Deparment of Science and Technology, and Deparment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Seretary Lito Atienza.
Goldilocks Bakeshop donated P6 million, while Vice President Noli de Castro promised the support of the national Housing Authority in his capacity as the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.
"Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig" is a product of a memorandum of agreement between AFI and DENR, through PRRC, which makes the AFI - Bantay Kalikasan and the DENR co-managers of the Pasig River Rehabilitation project.
The project aims to achieve a zero toxic input into the Pasig River including tributaries
esteros, and creeks leading to it. The project also aims to raise at least P700 million to acquire the technology and meet operational expenses to clean the river within seven years.
Under the project, focus is on the cleanup of an initial 10 esteros that flow towards the four major tributaries in San Juan, Marikina, Taguig, Pateros and Napindan. There are 47 major and minor tributaries in the metropolis, for which the Pasig River serves as the catch basin.
Under the project, the PRRC, AFI and their partner organizations aims to revive the polluted Pasig River through "clean river zones" where the discharge of toxic waste will be lessened or stopped with the use of community-based facilities for the treatment of solid and water wastes.
Lopez added that the project aims to treat water flowing into the Pasig River with the use of catchments and filtration systems and bioremediation. Bioremediation is the process that uses microorganism, fungi, green plant of their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition.
The project has begun the fist phase of its seven - year program, which focuses on the relocation of informal settlers living on the banks of the Pasig River and contribute heavily to the river's pollution.
A study by the PRRC shows that 60 percent of the garbage dumped in Pasig River comes from households and 35 percent from industries.
Under the "Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig" about 1,100 informal settlers living along the Pasig River will be relocated to a resettlement site in Calauan, Laguna by June. In the relocation site, the informal settlers will be provided by private sponsors with housing, education and health facilities and livelihood assistance.
The project also aims to relocate 4,040 informal settlers from Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Tondo, Manila, Makati-Guadalupe Viejo, Pasig, and Taguig.
ABS-CBN chairman and chief executive officer Eugenio Lopez III added that ABS-CBN will be heavily contributing to the success of the project.
"Other AFI programs like Bayanijuan, Bantay Bata 163, Bantay Kalikasan, Sagip Kapamilya, Bayan Micro-Finance, and E-Media will also take part. Everybody’s working together so the settler will be happy to transfer to the resettlement sites,” Lopez said.
According to Lopez, the Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia which has not yet cleaned up its major rivers, such as the Pasig.
"All the other Asian countries have solved their problems regarding the rivers that run through them," he said.
Meanwhile, Gina Lopez called on the private sector, the military and the national government to lend their support to the project.
"Just imagine if we succeed in cleaning the Pasig River, this can be a model for all the endangered river systems in the country. We're sending a signal to everybody else that you need to revere the river because it is not your toilet bowl, it is your life." she said.
Labels: ABS-CBN Foundation, Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, philippine news online
Proceed now to Philippine Newspapers | Famous Entrepreneurs | Global Warming News | Home Shopping Online
Business Marketing by Aredconsult
 |
 |
 |
Business Marketing by Aredconsult
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
