THE Climate Change Commission (CCC) recently led a coastal cleanup in Agno, Pangasinan, as part of its compliance with a directive from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to remove the country from the list of contributors to ocean pollution.

Undersecretary Albert de la Cruz said the initiative was done in cooperation with community-based group Brotherhood of Brave Maharlikans Tigers and JA1 Ecowarrior last July 12.

De la Cruz said the Philippines ranks third in churning out plastic waste with an estimated 0.75 million metric tons of plastic entering the ocean every year.

“Tayo po ay nakikiusap sa ating mga kababayan na ‘wag magtapon ng plastic sa sapa, sa dagat, kahit saan (We call on our countrymen to not discard plastic in streams, the ocean, or anywhere else),” he said.

“Kailangan magkaroon ng proper waste disposal (There should be a means of proper waste disposal),” de la Cruz added.

In his inaugural speech last June 30, Marcos vowed the country, under his watch, “won’t shirk in the responsibility” of reducing plastic waste and that it “will clean up.”

“We do have our part to play.

We are the third biggest plastic polluter in the world, but we won’t shirk from that responsibility,” the President previously said. “We will clean up,” he added. De la Cruz said the CCC has more coastal clean-up drives as well as tree-planting activities lined up to further increase the public’s awareness on how to protect and preserve the environment.