Villar Foundation marks 20 years of river work

The Villar Foundation has spent more than two decades rehabilitating and maintaining waterways in Las Piñas and nearby communities through its Las Piñas-Zapote River Rehabilitation Program, also known as the Sagip Ilog Program.

The program covers about 40 kilometers of waterways — 10 kilometers of the Las Piñas River, 10 kilometers of the Molino River and 20 kilometers of the Zapote River — which form part of the drainage system connected to Manila Bay.

Its activities include daily river monitoring, garbage collection, waste interception, desilting, dredging, vegetation management and clearing of waterways.

The foundation employs 26 River Warriors, whose monthly salaries totaling about P370,000 are supported by the Villar family. They patrol designated river stretches, collect floating garbage, clear debris and remove obstructions along riverbanks and waterways.

Their work also includes grass cutting, clearing chokepoints around dams and other river structures, and slope maintenance to help prevent erosion.

The foundation deploys heavy equipment for dredging and desilting, removing accumulated silt and mud to improve water flow and help reduce flooding in low-lying communities.

It also uses water trucks to irrigate the Basa-Zapote Vertical Gardens along the Riverdrive corridor and support its waste management and recycling facilities.

The program complements the objectives of the Supreme Court’s Manila Bay Mandamus, which directed government agencies to clean up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay and address pollution entering the bay through rivers, waterways and esteros.

The foundation said the program is intended as a continuing environmental effort rather than a one-time cleanup campaign.