OVER 3,000 sacks of garbage were collected by Bantay Dagat volunteers from 32 coastal areas in Davao City for the month of May, some of it washed into coastal areas due to heavy rains, an official said.
Ancillary Services Unit officer-in-charge Paul Bermejo noted that most of the collected wastes were plastic bottles, wrappers, tires, sacks and rubber slippers.
ASU also recorded that the area with most volume of waste was in Barangay 23-C although not all garbage collected emanated from the place.
"These (pile of garbage) that we have collected were the effect of heavy rains and flooding (that hit) the city centers. Wastes are being washed into coastal areas," Bermejo said.
At present, there are 300 Bantay Dagat volunteers who continue to conduct simultaneous clearing operations all over the 32 coastal areas. They conduct clearing operations every Saturday.
The volunteers use “bukag” or baskets to manually collect wastes from the shores and also from beneath the water in the coastline villages of the city.
Bermejo said the activity had contributed to the revitalization of the city's marine environment, particularly in Toril area.
“As these Bantay Dagat are also fisher folks, they have revealed that fishes are slowly re-appearing in the shallow portion of the waters. Hopefully in time, they will not have to go far to fish,” Bermejo said.
The Bantay Dagat was launched by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio last October and where she issued a mandate for the volunteers to protect the sea and coastal areas of the city.