NGCP joins international drive to clean sea coasts

By Dexter A. See 

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union - The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines will be joining the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in National Clean-up Month which will be their contribution to the 27th International Coastal Cleanup Day to help clean coastal areas worldwide.

Lilibeth Gaydowen, NGCP public relations officer for Northern Luzon, said the largest volunteer effort for marine resources preservation in the country aims to raise awareness on the need to protect our coastal areas.

According to her, NGCP’s Environmental Management Division is set to coordinate efforts to support ICC activities in various areas around the country, especially in the Northern Luzon area where the company maintains numerous power stations that sustain the reliability and quality of power for the grid.

NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid.

“As a socially responsible company, it is committed to create a sustainable environment and protect the natural resources, particularly in areas hosting its transmission facilities,” she said, adding that NGCP will be mobilizing thousands of volunteers nationwide in order to help in the massive international coastal cleanup campaign.

DENR is the lead agency in the conduct of the international coastal cleanup day which is an annual activity among stakeholders in order to sustain the protection and preservation of the country’s marine resources from the pollutants being thrown to the shorelines by people.

Gaydowen said that NGCP’s month-long coastal cleanup campaign will be their company’s simple but meaningful contribution to the noble intention of cleaning the coastlines in order to help preserve and protect our country’s riche marine resources.

“We want to set an example for other individuals and groups to emulate because we believe that each one of us has the responsibility of maintaining cleanliness not only in his backyard but also in the community where he stays,” she stressed, citing the importance of local governments and communities along coastal areas to be the ones to spearhead the activities that will be lined up for the international coastal cleanup campaign this month so that there will be greater participation of people.

Aside from mobilizing volunteers to help in the coastal cleanup campaign, Gaydowen said NGCP will also be mobilizing more volunteers in the upland communities where their transmission facilities are located to also conduct their own massive cleanup operations so that solid wastes from the highland communities will not be washed down the coastal areas and contribute in the worsening pollution of the country’s shorelines in the future.

“We are also empowering volunteers in our upland communities to simultaneously do cleanup activities in their respective areas so that solid wastes will not be washed down and complicate the pollution of our shorelines,” she said, citing that there is a need for people to internalize the importance of sustaining and maintaining cleanliness in their respective communities in order to help prevent the serious negative effects of air, water and land pollution to the living condition of people. -- Dexter A. See