TACLOBAN CITY – Cleaning the bodies of water located within the city should be supported by all.
Thus said Ma. Lumen Tabao, information officer of the Tacloban city government, reacting to posts in the social media referring efforts to clean the Panalaron Bay, in particular.
Tabao said that members of the Fishery Law Enforcement Team (FLET) conduct regular cleanup of the said bay which is located within the city’s main public market.
But the city information officer said that most of the wastes found at the Panalaron Bay were not from the market but those coming from villages along the Mangonbangon Creek and the communities along the bay.
“We cannot control the flow of current especially during high tide. If we really want the bay to be clean, let’s make this as a concerted effort and not only the City Hall that will work because the government is not only the City Hall of Tacloban,” Tabao said.
Tabao added that a single cleanup drive is not enough to clean the Panalaron Bay from all wastes, adding that it would take everyone to be responsible to properly dispose their trash to ensure that this will not end up at sea.
She added that personnel of FLET and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office have agreed to clean the bay.
“Villages along the waterways and coastline should also help in cleaning the bay by starting within their communities, avoid throwing their trash at Mangonbangon Creek and at the bay so that they will not pollute the sea,” Tabao added.
Tabao, meantime, expressed her support to the An Waray party-list founder Florencio “Bem” Noel who called for volunteers to help them in their upcoming cleanup drive at the Panalaron Bay on February 3.
Noel, in his Facebook account, said that An Waray has accepted the challenge set by President Rodrigo Duterte to take care and protect the environment and clean up the waterways.
His post earned support from the city residents who pledged to support the cleanup drive.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY- While this city’s major bodies of water are often seen to be dirty with all sorts of wastes could be seen floating, the Fishery Law Enforcement Team (FLET) insists that they are doing their job in cleaning them up.
In fact, their main concern now involves the cleaning up of the Panalaron Bay, said Carlos Dave Castello, FLET coordinator.
Earlier, photos of Panalaron Bay, one of the city’s major bays, full with garbage circulated in the social media with netizens calling the attention of the city government to conduct its own clean up.
Cleaning up or rehabilitating the country’s major bodies of water has become a sort of frenzy after President Rodrigo Duterte issued an order to collect garbage at the Manila Bay and restore its old glory.
Manila Bay is earlier known to have one of the best spots in the world for watching sunset.
Castello said that their office, together with the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) and the Tacloban Youth Office, and even some volunteers are taking turns in cleaning up the city’s bodies of water, to include Panalaron Bay, long before Mr. Duterte directed for cleanup of bays and creeks.
The city’s main public market, seaport, and several business establishments and houses are located along the coast of Panalaron Bay.
Castello said that their cleanup was previously done thrice a week, depending on the availability of the speed boats which are also being used on Bantay Dagat operations.
The cleanup covers all the waterways of Tacloban, he added.
Castello said that the program’s purpose is to spread environmental awareness and protection.
Today (February 2), youth volunteers will disseminate flyers regarding public awareness on why it is not appropriate to throw wastes in the sea, and penalties sanctioned on individuals who practice disobedience of the law as a means of helping the environment to become cleaner and healthier in the years to come, the FLET official said. (KIARA ARABELLA ALER, THEA MENDOZA, AMIRA MAE MIRALLES, STUDENT INTERNS, ST. THERESE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION OF TACLOBAN, INC.)