MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur (PIA)--The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has appealed to the general populace of the city and the province of Lanao del Sur to uphold the 3Rs initiative which is to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Such a call was echoed amid the celebration of Environment Month this June which was marked by the inauguration of the new engineered sanitary landfill (category IV) here Tuesday, June 28. 

“We are asking the locals to love the environment by pursuing the 3Rs with vigor, passion, and determination, or else, everything that we have done so far will not come into fruition. We need your help,” said DENR Assistant Secretary for Legal Affairs Lawyer Michelle Angelica Go.

Go underlined that everything starts at home when talking about the environment. 

She stated that if people themselves will not bring about change in their everyday lives such as doing the 3Rs, it will be very tough for the government to sustain environmental projects such as the sanitary landfill. 

As the city and the province now have their solid waste facility, Go hoped that what will be dumped will only be the ones called residual waste and those only necessary to be placed there because the 3Rs were already done. 

The assistant secretary has earlier conveyed that the inauguration of the engineered sanitary landfill was timely as the country celebrates Environment Month which upholds the constitutional right of the Filipino people to a balanced and healthful ecology. 

She then detailed that the sanitary landfill was just one of the efforts under the implemented Solid Waste Management Program as other projects of the Department in Marawi included social cartography and debris monitoring. 

Go explained that they want the people of Marawi to have a sanitary landfill so that they will be able to breathe clean air, their beautiful Lake Lanao will be free from marine litter and other solid waste, and there will be an action against land degradation

“Sana [I hope] we remember everyday, not just during Environment Month, that an ordinary Filipino citizen has a big contribution to this environmental objective. That would be sufficient for us to ensure the constitutional right of every citizen to a balanced and healthful ecology. Kailangan natin ng tulong ng lahat ng [We need the help of the] Filipino people. Hindi kaya ng gobyerno na ibigay lahat ng [The government cannot give all the] needs ng [of the] society. There is so much that needs to be done,” said Go. (CRG/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)