Atimonan One Energy Inc. (A1E) with Atimonan Municipal Environment and National Resources (MENRO) led a clean-up activity in Atimonan, Quezon on September 22, 2018 as part of the International Coastal Clean-up Day celebration.

Around 475 volunteers from non-government organizations (NGOs), local government, academe, and other sectors covered an estimated 1.2 kilometers of coastal areas, which resulted in around 1,150 kilos of garbage and disposed them at the Municipal Sanitary Landfill in Barangay Inaclagan.

Head teacher of Atimonan National Comprehensive High School  Lucrecia Escritor expressed her gratitude to A1E for initiating the activity.

“We are truly grateful that A1E is taking the lead in different environmental activities in Atimonan. We are supporting this to teach the students the importance of taking care of our environment,” she said.

Meanwhile, Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy) and Umicore Specialty Chemicals also led a clean-up activity in Siokoy Beach in Barangay Cawag, which had some 150 volunteers from Subic.

Manggahan and Mapanao Elementary School and municipal and barangay officials also participated in the activity.

Regular coastal clean-up activities form part of A1E and RP Energy’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs, which include environmental stewardship as one of its pillars.

“It’s beyond the clean-up. It’s teaching young people the value of environmental stewardship. It’s developing our culture of malasakit for the environment,” CSR Officer of RP Energy Jason Gavina said.

Employees of A1E and RP Energy also participated in the clean-up despite having office work.

“It is fun to reconnect with nature and meet new friends who are also volunteering for a good cause,” said Aiko Mito, Administrative Officer of RP Energy.

She said every citizen should be part of activities that involve the environment.

“There are so much plastic and trash along the coastal areas, and even in the ocean. I really thing everyone should take part in helping solve this problem,” she added.

Besides the coastal clean-up, RP Energy’s Protect the Bay Initiative aims build a community of volunteers from business, government and private sector to help curb illegal fishing, improve their livelihood and promote environmental awareness in communities surrounding the Subic Bay. The company also organizes regular Protect the Bay for all year round covering various topics like Pawikan or Sea Turtle Conservation.