ANGELES CITY – Amid a curse vowed by a bishop on people who would throw garbage into the downtown Sapang Balen creek, Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan issued yesterday a stern warning to business establishments and households which still use waterway into a dumpsite that eventually flows into the Manila Bay through other Pampanga towns.
Pamintuan has put up steel grills along the bridges across the creek in barangays Cutcut, Sta. Trinidad, Pampang, San Nicolas, Sto. Rosario, San Jose, Pulungbulo and Sto. Domingo to prevent local folk from throwing wastes into the channel.
But he noted that “there are still business establishments and even residential houses with sewerage systems draining into the creek.”
In 2009, local Auxiliary Bishop Virgilio Pablo David put a curse on local folk who would continue to pollute the Sapang Balen creek. He announced the curse on a megaphone as he walked along the banks of the creek, together with volunteers in his clean-up drive.
“Magmula sa araw na ito, binibigyan ko ng sumpa ang Sapang Balen. Sinuman ang lalapastangan nito ay magiging malas sa buhay (From this day on, I am putting a curse on Sapang Balen.
Whoever dares to show disrespect to it will be unlucky in life),” said David who has remained involved in the anti-pollution drive in this city.
A blog put up by David’s Holy Rosary Parish then asked: “Why would a bishop go to this extent to help revive a waterway?” and then quoted the bishop’s answer:
“The river has life and anyone who dumps garbage without compunction is killing it slowly. Laws and ordinances do not seem to work at all; people just ignore these. Let us see how they will react to a curse from a bishop.”
Since then, pollution of the creek was significantly reduced.
“This must be stopped and we need to implement the law at its fullest. The creek has become a dumping site of pollutants and this has to be addressed immediately,” Pamintuan stressed.
He urged all Angeleños to join him in his effort to “rid the said creek of filth, effluents and other pollutants. We must act and move together to save our waterways.”
“It will be volunteerism again just like what we did in 1992 when lahar threatened us here. That time, 25,000 Angeleños got together to pack 250,000 protective sandbags,” the mayor said.
Pamintuan had served three terms as mayor in the 1990’s soon after Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991.
He also appealed to barangay officials and residents along Sapang Balen to be “vigilant and be more caring of the creek that was once crystal clear.”
Earlier this month, the city governments of Angeles and San Fernando signed a commitment agreement on the clean-up of waterways and tributaries in lined with the Supreme Court’s order to rehabilitate Manila Bay.
