Maynilad participates in International Cleanup Day 2013

West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) and 5,000 other volunteers joined hands in the country’s largest volunteer effort to clean up Freedom Island as part of this year’s 25th Internal Coastal Cleanup Day.  Freedom Island is an area located in the Las Pinas-Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) and is touted to be an important habitat for migratory birds.

This year’s event gathered volunteers from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB), Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), United States Ambassador to the Philippines, Harry K. Thomas, and other public and private organizations also joined in the cleanup.  Engr. Francisco A. Arellano, Head of Corporate Quality, Environment, Safety and Health (CQESH), led the Maynilad delegation.

Maynilad has actively participated in the campaign since 2008 as part of its strong commitment to environmental protection and sustainability. This year’s theme, “Trash Free Seas,” stresses the dangers that pollution causes to human health, marine wildlife, communities, and economies worldwide.

International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day is an annual campaign initiated by environmental activists every third Saturday of September. It is an annual global effort organized by Washington-based Ocean Conservancy to remove trash and debris from beaches and waterways, and aims to change human behaviors that allow the waste to reach the ocean.

Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base.  It is a concessionaire of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (all but portions of San Andres & Sta.Ana), Quezon City (west of San Juan River, West Avenue, EDSA, Congressional, Mindanao Avenue, the northern part starting from the Districts of the Holy Spirit & Batasan Hills), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabonall in Metro Manila; the cities of Cavite, Bacoor, and Imus, the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario, all in Cavite Province.    

IN PHOTO: Maynilad Executive, Engr. Francisco A. Arellano, Head of Corporate Quality, Environment, Safety and Health (CQESH), meets Sen. Cynthia Villar at the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the International Coastal Cleanup Day in Freedom Island, in the Las Pinas-Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA).  Sen. Villar is a staunch defender in the preservation of LPPCHEA where the cleanup took place.