LOCAL fisherfolk, residents, divers, nongovernment organizations and the local government joined the Naval Forces Central (Navforcen) and the Philippine Coast Guard in cleaning up Malapascua island in Daanbantayan, northern Cebu for the Coral Triangle Day.

The celebration in Malapascua last June 11 started with a coastal clean-up, a tree planting at the beach, the divers’ underwater cleanup and was capped with a forum on solid waste management in the evening.

Malapascua Barangay Captain Rex Novabos said that the residents, who are mostly members of Pantawid Pampamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps), participated in the activities.

Novabos said that a total of 16 divers from the Navforcen, PCG and the Sea Knights joined the underwater cleanup that gathered 90 bunches of plastic bags, plastic containers, pipes, cans and other solid waste items.

According to the Cebu Provincial Government Public Information Office, at least 400 Talisay tree seedlings were planted on the shores of Malapascua.

Gary Cases of the Dive Link advocacy group also shared 100 tree seedlings for the tree planting.

The Coral Triangle Day is celebrated globally in the first week of June, particularly on June 9, according to wwf.panda.org., the Coral Triangle refers to the world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity that encompasses the seas of six countries in Asia Pacific Region: Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.

It is one of the three mega ecological complexes on our planet, together with the Congo Basin in Africa and the Amazon Rainforest in South America.