Residents Unite to Clean-up Ondoy Debris Dumped in Marikina-San Mateo River

Marikina City – More than 150 residents living adjacent to the Nangka River unite to clean-up the debris, soil and mixed garbage brought by typhoon Ondoy but was later dumped by the local government of Marikina City into the said river.

Armed with shovels, rakes and other hand-made tools, the residents, mostly from the riverside Barangay Banaba of San Mateo, Rizal, excavated the debris and garbage and placed them in sacks in order to restore the water flow of the Nangka River. The community action was done from morning till the afternoon.

“Mayor Marites Fernando and the local government of Marikina committed a crime to our environment by dumping waste and typhoon debris into the Nangka River. Worst, they neglected the responsibility to clean-up their mess and to provide a clear rehabilitation program for the said river,” said Noli Abinales of the disaster-risk prevention group Buklod Tao.

A major tributary of the Marikina River, the Nangka River also serves as the boundary of the Marikina City and San Mateo, Rizal. Post-Ondoy debris and waste collected for many weeks in the streets of Barangay Nangka and nearby villages by the personnel of Marikina City and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) were dumped into the said river.

According to Abinales, the dumping of waste and debris caused siltation and narrowed the width of the Nangka River, thereby putting further at risk the residents living adjacent the said waterway.

“We decided to act and excavate the debris that we can remove to reduce possible risks that the rainy season may bring anew. We should have learned our lessons from Ondoy and we do not want a similar disaster to befall us,” said Abinales.

The clean-up is also a part of an ongoing program of Buklod Tao in partnership with Christian Aid, Community Organizing for Philippine Enterprise (COPE) and Swiss Interchurch Aid (HEKS).

Meanwhile the pollution watchdog EcoWaste Coalition challenged the administration of Mayor Fernando to take the responsibility of cleaning up and rehabilitating the Nangka River and other tributaries of the Marikina River.

“Our rivers are not dumpsites. It is a vital ecosystem that should be protected at all cost. Mayor Fernando should take ample steps to immediately address the clean-up and rehabilitation of the Nangka River and ensure that such environmental crime will never happen again,” said Rei Panaligan of the EcoWaste Coalition.

“The people took the initiative for the Nangka River. Our government officials should step up and ensure that similar efforts will be continued,” said Panaligan.


Comments

Unknown said…
HI
I APPLAUD YOUR EFFORTS - IN THE UNITED STATES WE ARE FACING THE SAME OR SIMILAR TYPE OF TOXIC PROBLEM- DUMPING FROM NUCLEAR SITES RECENT SPRAYING OF VIRALS OR GERM WARFARE -H1N1 RESURGENCE-
MANY OF THESE ARE RE-CURRING DUE TO IGNORANCE AND THE NEED TO MAKE A PROFIT OFF OUR HUMAN RACE.
THE PROBLEM IS WIDE SPREAD- THE C D C IGNORED ALL REPORTS - HOMELAND SECURITY- AND THE U S CNGRESS- I AM ANGRY. REPORTS SINCE 2005 AND THE PREVIOUS PREDICTION ACCORDING TO WORLD STUDY SAW THE PROBLEM LONG BEFORE IT OCCURRED.
HOWEVER I AS A MAJORITY OF ONE PLAN TO PROPOSE NEW LEGISLATURE TO COMBAT AND PUNISH THOSE WHO HAVE MALICIOUSLY EXPERIMENTED ON HUMANS AND THE ECOLOGY.

REBELS AID STATION -EDUCATION DIVISION- URBANOMIS - WE WERE THE FIRST TO ASSIST IN MANY AREAS USING COLLECTED DATA TO DETERMINE TRENDS IN DISEASE AND NEW BORNS- THE PREDICTION OF FETAL DISEASE DUE TO SPRAYING OF CHILDREN STARTED IN AFRICA - MOVED TO AMERICA 0- F I GET A CHANCE I WOULD LIKE TO COME WITH A TEAM TO FURTHER EXAMINE AND TEST - WE MIGHT HAVE THE SAME OR SIMILAR PROBLEM- ALSO CONSIDER THE NUCLEAR UNDER GROUND TESTING AND THE SIGNALS OF THE SEA OR FROM FISH AND OTHER PLANT-SOIL AND AIR TESTING WOULD ALSO INDICATE EXACTLY WHAT THE PROBLEM IS AND HOW WE CAN GO ABOUT SOLVING WORLD TOXIN PROBLEMS- DAHKUR-THE WHOLE AREA IS CONTAMINATED - AL THE PEOPLE HAD TO BE MOVED.-

EVERYONE THINKS NUCLEAR IS SAFE - THE DEVASTATION COMES FROM DUMPING IT ANY WHERE -ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLIER PERIODS AND SALE OF WASTE NOW CALLED WASTE MANAGEMENT-BUSINESS IS BOOMING WHILE HUMANS ARE DYING IN DROVES -MORE THAN 1200 DEAD IN THE STATE F ALABAMA AND NO ONE IS CONCERNED.

WE ARE IN TROUBLE HERE - I WOULD HOPE THE UNITED NATIONS WOULD NOW PAY MORE ATTENTION- AS A MEMBER OF THE U N AND A REPERESENTATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAS URBANOMIC TEAM- I WILL DO ALL INMY POWER TO ALERT OTHERS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE NEGLECTED TO TAKE NOTICE-

ANTI-BIOTIC THERAPY HAS BEEN DEVELOPED BUT CONTAMINATED AND MANY ARE REFUSED THE REGIMENT DUE TO THE HIGH COST- TREATMENT CAN REDUCE MANY OF THE INTERNAL PROBLEMS AS WELL AS ADDING MINERALS AND OTHER VITAMINS WHICH TOXINS REMOVE FROM SOIL AND WATER.

DR. DORIS JEAN MOSLEY
URBAN STUDY-FOUNDER
PRINCIPAL OF PRINCIPLES
GRAND MATRON EMERITAE-EDUCATION