In commemoration of World Water Day 2017, Senator Cynthia A. Villar led the Laguna Lake coastal cleanup with the local government of Victoria, Laguna and volunteers from Victoria Integrated National High School in Barangay San Roque on Friday morning.
“Now, we look back on World Water Day, we should maintain bodies of water like Laguna Lake in pristine condition,” said Villar, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food and is a member of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.
Villar said a mandamus issued by the Supreme Court in 2008 commanded 13 government agencies to clean up both Laguna Lake and Manila Bay because the lake flows out to the bay via the Pasig River.
“That was mandamus issued in 2008, and we were given 10 years to clean them, but we only have two years to go,” she said.
As chairman of the Senate environment committee before the chamber’s recent reorganization, she said she allocated funds to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources projects all along the bodies of water.
“We are giving out composting and vermicomposting facilities to help clean the lake, which is overflowing with dirt. The facilities will help produce organic fertilizers we can then give out to the provinces of Laguna, Rizal, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija,” Villar said.
An overgrowth of waterlily plants in the lake can also be harvested and made into compost, organic fertilizer, mats, bags, slippers, and baskets, the senator said.
“This coming March 20 to 21, together with our Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation [SIPAG] Foundation, we will teach residents of Victoria to convert waterlilies into handicrafts, to give extra income to the people in this town,” Villar said.
“This is proven technology, because we tested that in Las Piñas. We have done this for more than 10 years, and because of this we managed to recycle about 75 percent of our waste. We can do this for all the people here in Laguna, so I promoted the project and gave the budget to the DENR,” she added.
Plastic waste recovered from Laguna Lake will be sent to recycling centers to be converted into school chairs for public schools in the provinces, the senator said.