Participants in the 2021 coastal cleanup scour the shoreline in the Subic Bay Freeport to collect wastes and storm debris washed on shore. Photo by Malou Dungog
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — More than 200 volunteers from locator companies, community groups and departments of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority fanned out to eight points along the shoreline here on Friday to collect mostly plastic wastes and other debris that were washed ashore after the recent heavy rains.
SBMA chair and administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the coastal cleanup is an annual event here among stakeholders in line with the International Coastal Cleanup Day celebration, but was cancelled last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This time we allowed it but on condition that the activities be undertaken with strict observance of health and safety protocols,” Eisma stressed.
“Despite the pandemic, there is still a need to protect the environment because a healthy environment is proven to be a big factor to the healing process, and we need that now more than ever,” she added.
The SBMA Ecology Center, which organized the cleanup, assigned volunteers into 10-man teams deployed at onshore cleanup points along Waterfront Beach, San Bernardino Road, Triboa Bay Boardwalk, Tago Beach, and Nabasan Beach. Others were dispersed to river deltas, while some underwater teams also dived on the bay to take out trash.
Ecology Center manager Amethya dela Llana said the trash collected by the various teams were sorted out and recorded to further study the extent of pollution along the coast and on Subic Bay.
Most of the trash washed ashore were plastic bottles, Styrofoam cups and food packets, but volunteers said they also collected a large amount of disposable face masks along with rubber slippers.
The coastal cleanup on Friday also served to conclude the weeklong celebration of this year’s Biay Dagat, a mini-festival launched in 2019 to promote environmental protection and engage stakeholder support in ecological action.
Biay Dagay 2021 was launched virtually, with the online ceremony attended by SBMA employees, business locators, environmental advocates, and other Subic stakeholder groups.
The launch was followed by a series of online lectures like “Man and Ocean: Importance of taking care of our Seas and Ocean,” “SBMA Policies in Protecting Marine Areas,” and “Waste Away: Proper Waste Management, Segregation and Disposal.”
Cenevix Mañago of the SBMA Ecology Center’s organizing team described the coastal cleanup as “hugely successful” despite the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic.
