CITY of San Fernando Mayor Edwin “EdSa” Santiago and City Environment and Natural Resources Officer Regina Rodriguez were named “Refill Champions” by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) in Central Luzon for their exceptional contributions in combating plastic pollution.
Santiago and Rodriguez personally accepted the award during the Environmental Summit – Awarding of Refill Champions hosted by the agency on September 5 at Royce Hotel and Casino in Clark Freeport.
The recognition was for the City Government of San Fernando’s “Refill Revolution,” a brainchild of the DENR-EMB which encourages the community to use their own bottles and containers in buying products from selected partner suppliers at discounted prices.
“Malaki ang pasasalamat natin sa DENR-EMB dahil binuo nila itong programang ‘Refill Revolution’ na tiyak na nakakatulong sa ating kalikasan. Sa pag-adapt natin ng programang ito, ang goal lang natin ay hikayatin ang mga Fernandino na iwasan na ang paggamit ng sobrang plastik. Hindi natin alam na may katumbas din pala itong rekognisyon,” said Santiago.
Following its launch in Guiguinto, Bulacan in April 2018, the City of San Fernando became the second local government unit (LGU) to host “Refill Revolution” two months later. The city government held another “Refill Revolution” in December of the same year.
The last two editions of the project in San Fernando were in February and May 2019, during the Cityhood Anniversary and Pyestang Fernandino celebrations, respectively.
Meanwhile, DENR Regional Director Paquito Moreno, Jr., in his speech presented by Assistant Regional Director Arthur Salazar, said the recognition should become both an inspiration and challenge to the LGU champions.
“As you receive the recognition, may you be more inspired and challenged at the same time to influence more people to be protective of our environment. May you reach sustainable development without compromising ecological stability,” he said.
In a brief overview presented by the agency during the summit, it showed that plastic bags take 10 to 1000 years to decompose, while plastic bottles can take 450 years or more. Through the program, the use of plastic waste will gradually be decreased.
Apart from Central Luzon local government unitrs, several barangays and private institutions were also recognized by the agency for their “green efforts.” (PR)