CG cleans up Camotes beach

CEBU, Philippines — Another big clean-up drive was conducted in the northern part of Cebu. Last Sunday, the Philippine Coast Guard District in Central Visayas cleaned up a coastal area of Camotes Island, which is well-visited by tourists both local and foreign.

Lt. Junior Grade Michael John Encina, PCG-Region 7 spokesman, said the district is boosting its program called “Intensified Community Assistance, Awareness, Response, and Enforcement” or iCARE to make sure the islands of Cebu avoid getting closed, like what happened earlier to Boracay Island.

“We cannot afford another Boracay incident. We have to do something and iCARE is our way in PCG-Region 7,” he said.

Encina said the district decided to clean up Camotes Island because it is one of the most-visited tourist spots in Central Visayas, and is home to nice beaches and coastal treasures that needed to be preserved and protected.

The coastal cleanup was conducted particularly at a beach in Barangay Santiago, San Fernando town, Camotes Island.

Encina said the Coast Guard personnel, their other partners, and volunteers gathered roughly 500 kilograms of garbage --20 sacks of bio-waste mostly leaves, and another five sacks of waste materials such as bottles, plastic bags, and cigarette butts.

The cleanup over the weekend was their largest coastal cleanup yet, and a first in Camotes Island because it was joined by several government agencies and many concerned stakeholders, he said.

Encina said the Coast Guard district partnered with the local government units in Camotes Island as well as the local police force, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the beach resort workers.

He added that the Coast Guard composite team was comprised of its attached operating units such as the districts’ Marine Environmental Protection Unit, Special Operations Unit, and Maritime Safety Services Unit, and the Coast Guard Station in Camotes, and the Barko ng Republica ng Pilipinas Panglao.

The district’s medical and dental team was also present during the Sunday cleanup, Encina said. The day before the cleanup, the teams also conducted a medical and dental mission in the town.

Encina said the cleanup drive and outreach program is part of iCARE which was launched in November 2018. It has consistently become a campaign thrust of the district and environmental protection is one of its major functions.

He said the district is eyeing holding more cleanup drives every weekend, targeting the other spots or beaches in Oslob town and the islands of Bantayan and Malapascua in Cebu, and also other areas in Bohol.

Environmental cleanup campaigns are now becoming common in the region, organized separately by different offices such as DENR and the Cebu City government, through its Community Environment and Natural Resources Office. Last Saturday, CENRO spearheaded a cleanup along a portion of the Guadalupe River. (FREEMAN)