Over 3,000 sacks of garbage were retrieved by Bantay Dagat volunteers from the 32 coastal areas of Davao for the month of May 2018.

Paul Bermejo, officer-in-charge of the Ancillary Services Unit, said most of the wastes collected were plastic bottles, wrappers, tires, sacks and rubber slippers.

Data from the ASU indicated that the area with the most volume of wastes collected was Barangay 23-C.

Members of Bantay Dagat routinely conduct clean up operations in coastal communities in Davao City.

Mayor Inday Sara Duterte has been urging communities to participate in efforts to keep communities clean by obseving proper solid waste management and by joining clean up drives.

However, Bermejo said that the wastes did not come entirely from the barangay, but these included those carried from the city center by heavy rains.

“These (pile of) garbage that we have collected were the effect of the heavy rains and flooding (that hit) the city center. Wastes are being washed into the coastal areas,” Bermejo said last Friday.

Currently, 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 Mayor Inday Sara Duterte in October and charged them with the protection of the sea and coastal areas of the city.

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