LA TRINDAD, Benguet (PIA) – Close to 300 volunteers  from the different barangays of La Trinidad, government line agencies and law enforcement agencies, schools, civil society organizations, and the private and business sectors participated in the Balili River clean- up  activity on Friday(September 15, 2023).

Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer Arthur Pedro said the volunteers  recovered  a total of 103 sacks  or more than a ton of wastes  from the riverbanks and tributaries of the Balili River.

Balili River traverses Baguio City and the municipalities of La Trinidad and Sablan before entering the province of La Union, where it is named the Naguilian River.

Pedro said this third  quarter Balili River clean- up  drive  was  in support  to  the International Coastal Clean-up Day 2023 and the observance of the Balili River Day which  coincidentally  fall on  September 16.

The Balili River Day  every Sept. 16  aims to   promote the conservation of the 23-kilometer Balili River which  water  condition is deteriorating due to pollution.

 Pedro added that the clean-up activity was  also a support of the municipality to the BARKADA Program 2023 or the Barangay at Kalikasan Day recently launched by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The BARKADA Program, based on  DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2023-133, is a nationwide community-based clean-up drive program  anchored on the culture of bayanihan that aims to maintain and provide a healthy and safe environment for the people through proper solid waste management.

The BARKADA 2023 carries  the  theme “Buhayin ang Diwa ng Bayanihan; Mag-volunteer Tayong Lahat para sa Kalikasan.”

DILG-Cordillera  Regional Director Araceli San Jose  earlier  encouraged local government units in the  region to participate in the Barangay at Kalinisan Day and conduct a simultaneous clean up drive within their locality.  She  said  all LGUs should ensure and support the right of the people to balance ecology and preserve the comfort and convenience of their inhabitants to promote general welfare based on the Local Government Code of 1991.

Mayor Romeo Salda thanked the hundreds of volunteers who continue to support the municipality  in its  regular clean up drive. He also reminded residents to maintain cleanliness and not to use the river as a dumping ground of wastes,  instead help in the protection and preservation of the Balili River, which is intricately woven to the history of the municipality. (JDP/RMC/ SLU Interns- PIA CAR)