DAVAO CITY – Presidential son and this city’s vice mayor Paolo Z. Duterte said that he is hoping that the administration of President Duterte implements the ban on throwing trash along beaches.
Duterte, who is acting mayor, said in a statement that he wanted to be part of a campaign that would save the cleanliness of beaches.
Vice Mayor Duterte said that the country’s beaches face a threat of garbage, ranging from cigarette butts, empty alcohol bottles, as well as medical wastes.
“The irresponsible disposal of cigarette butts on our beaches, if left unchecked, will be a cause of a major problem in the future,” said Duterte.
“If we are not going to do anything to stop this today, then we can only expect a bigger problem in the future.”
Vice Mayor Duterte cited Baler as an example of areas that did not implement cleanliness drives in tourist areas like beaches.
This, despite Baler having a ban on drinking and smoking along the beaches.
But when he visited Baler to campaign for his father’s presidential bid early this year, Paolo saw the extent of the town’s problem.
“The problem showed that our shorelines, especially the tourist destinations, have not been given the needed attention when it comes to environmental protection,” he said.
“The government has disregarded this very important task.”
According to Duterte, banning smoking on the beaches and Philippine shorelines is one of the best ways to remedy this problem. (Yas Ocampo)