Social media use pushed to help Balili River project

Sunday, October 2, 2011

JOURNALISTS and conservation experts alike are convinced social media can help cause public clamor for the immediate rehabilitation of the Balili River.

Former ABS-CBN news head Maria Ressa, in a forum with local conveners of the Balili River Rehabilitation project and students at UP Baguio, claimed social media has been proven to stir change both at the local and international levels.

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A journalist who spearheaded the country’s largest television network to use social media for transparency in the previous elections, Ressa said social media has been effective in crowd-sourcing and gradually making people clamor for change after breaching its tipping point.

However, she said social media also has it downside, including creating a passive attitude on its users who usually get emboldened while using the medium but fail to act offline.

The realization of this three-year rehabilitation project is achievable, UP Baguio Social Science Dean Raymundo Rovillos said, as proven by the cooperation of local governments, nongovernment organizations and the private sector in cleaning the river.

The bulk of the water passing through the river comes from Baguio, Rovillos added, and most of the wastes going into the body of water come from residents living beside the river.

Rovillos said the problem of the Balili River lies with residents living near its banks as they continue to contribute to its pollution.