BPI BIOTECHNOLOGY OFFICE AND THE CROP PROTECTION MANAGEMENT DIVISION CONDUCTS COASTAL CLEAN-UP ACTIVITY

By: Alexis Marie Sagisi

Event November 25, 2022

On November 25, 2022, the Bureau of Plant Industry Biotechnology Office together with the Crop Protection Management Division conducted their Coastal Clean-up Activity at the Harbor View, South Dr, Ermita, Manila, with the aid of the Manila Local Government Unit-Department of Public Services.

In an Inquirer entry written by Jonathan Breton on October 2020, it was reported that two million cubic meters of wastewater is being generated by Metro Manila every day. The International Coastal Cleanup Philippines, a non-profit organization, helps alleviate this problem through partnership with the government and other agencies to protect the marine environment. They have coordinated with the Department of Agriculture to participate in the activity, also as a support to the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day institutionalized by the Presidential Proclamation 470. The PP 470, issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, stipulated the need to have an ICC day to re-awaken the vigilance in continuing the crusade against the debris crises. In ICC Philippines’ letter, the clean-up may be conducted on shorelines, communities, and neighborhoods, where trash could be prevented to reach drains and/or sewers. It was also mentioned that the LGU can be tapped to coordinate with the requesting offices for the cleanup activity. With this, the Biotechnology Office coordinated with the Manila-DPS, an office of the Manila LGU mandated to instill citizen awareness on their social responsibility to sustain a clear and efficient solid waste management practices, where they determined sites feasible for community cleaning and helped in the hauling of collected trash.

The BPI Biotechnology office and BPI CPMD collected a total estimate of 140.45 kg trash around a 250 sqm area of the shoreline, with most of the collected trash as plastics wastes. This emphasizes World Bank’s publication on the Market Study of the Philippines: Plastics Circularity Opportunities and Barriers published on March 21, 2021, where twenty percent of the 2.7 million tons of Philippines’ plastic waste ends up in the ocean. With the convergence of the agencies, the activity becomes a movement by sharing and unifying efforts towards responsiveness in waste-management.