Make proper disposal of garbage a daily habit

Part of the Bureau of Immigration’s anniversary celebration was an activity dubbed “Cleaning by the Bay” held last Aug. 13. It was participated in by the rank and file and high-ranking officials as well as volunteers. It was a sight to behold. Everyone, regardless of age and position,  came together for the common cause of cleaning a part of the smelly, murky waters along Roxas Boulevard.

It was my first time to take part in such a laudable activity. My eyes were opened to the reality that we have become irresponsible in disposing of our trash which end up in Manila Bay. The voluminous garbage speaks of a society that is yet to be trained on proper waste disposal. We are guilty of indiscriminate dumping of garbage.

How sad that we have become so callously abusive of our environment. We only think of Mother Nature when calamity or disaster strikes. Every human being  should go the extra mile of caring for our one and only Mother Earth.

Isn’t it high time we took part in making our society garbage-free? We cannot rely solely on our government to clean up the environment. A concerted effort  is highly needed.

In P-Noy’s recent State of the Nation Address, he pushed for a wangwang-free country. To complement his thrust toward a “dang matuwid,” let us work for a litter- and garbage-free environment. This cannot be done by the government alone. To achieve this objective, both the government and the citizens must join their efforts.

A day spent cleaning Manila Bay is futile. We should make it a daily habit to help control the floods and other problems caused by the mountains of garbage we throw away. What we  need is discipline in disposing of our garbage properly.

—BELEN D. ASUELO,

Intelligence Division,

Bureau of Immigration,

Intramuros, Manila;

bdasuelo@yahoo.com