MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday heaped praises on San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president Ramon Ang for extending assistance to the government to restore the Pasig River.
Duterte thanked Ang for helping the government using his own money without asking for something in return.
This, after Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu told Duterte that Ang has doubled to PHP2 billion the budget for the project to clean up and rehabilitate the Pasig River.
“Nakikita kong tao na magtulong sa ating bayan, nagvo-volunteer, walang [kondisyon] at gumagastos pa is Ramon Ang (The person who volunteers to help the country without the condition is Ramon Ang),” Duterte said. “Iyan lang ang masabi ko kay.. Eh napag-usapan namin si Ramon Ang eh. Ako saludo ako diyan (That’s all I can say about Ramon Ang. I salute him).”
Pasig River has been named as the world’s most polluting river when it comes to plastic waste, according to the scientific study released by the Rotterdam-based Ocean Cleanup.
The study found that the 27-kilometer Pasig River, which runs through Manila, accounts for 63,000 tons of plastic entering oceans from rivers per year.
SMC, in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), has started its five-year Pasig River clean-up effort.
In June this year, Ang announced that the budget for the major river rehabilitation project was doubled to PHP2 billion.
SMC is targeting to extract around 50,00 metric tons of silt and waste from the Pasig River every month, or a total of 600,000 metric tons per year from the river.
The company has already acquired advanced and specialized equipment for the Pasig River rehabilitation project.
The project is SMC’s second major river rehabilitation initiative. Last year, the company also launched the PHP1-billion cleanup of the 27-kilometer Tullahan-Tinajeros River for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay. (PNA)
