MAYOR Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has urged the residents to make cleanliness a responsibility as she led on Sunday morning the 1st Basura Run 2018 in Zamboanga City.
The Basura Run is an advocacy of runners and concerned citizens that takes place every quarter of the year.
The activity was organized by the city government through the Office of the City Environment and Natural Resources (OCENR) in collaboration with the Fast Mover Joggers Club, Incorporated.,
The main objective of the activity is to make people aware of the importance of throwing garbage in proper bins especially plastics - one of the causes of flooding.
Salazar said the advocacy to sustain cleanliness in the city will not be successful without the support and cooperation of each and every resident of the city.
Rodrigo Pagotaisidro, Public Service Officer of the OCENR, who spearheaded the preparations, expressed gratitude to all the participating agencies who turned up for the event despite it being a Sunday and the inclement weather.
He said the participants were divided into the orange and yellow team and assigned the villages of San Jose Gusu and Sta. Maria as the kick off points.
The two groups got together at Paseo del Mar for the closing activities.
While they ran, the participants filled up their empty sacks with plastic wastes and upon reaching the Paseo del Mar, the trash collected were weighed and sorted and the groups with the heaviest trash were awarded with prizes.
The Basura Run adopts the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution, If You Can’t Re-Use it, Refuse it.” (Bong Garcia/SunStar Philippines)