Cayetano orders sustainable rehabilitation of Taguig river

In line with the observance of the city’s famous Taguig River Festival 2010, Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano today ordered the gradual and sustainable rehabilitation of the Taguig River channel, the site of week-long celebration of the Feast of Sta. Ana.

The mayor said clean up drive has already started in Taguig’s major river channel, which plays an important role in the preservation of the city’s rich history, tradition and culture.

“We believe that one of the ways to preserve this tradition is to love and care for the Taguig River,” the lady mayor, the youngest mayor of a highly urbanized city in the country today at age 28, said during the Street Dancing Festival held at the Sta. Ana Church Patio this morning.

Mayor Cayetano and other local officials led the celebration of the Taguig River Festival, which kicked off on July 17 with a series of activities.

The Street Dancing Festival will be followed later in the evening at 7 pm by talent competition, also at the Sta. Ana Church Patio, to be followed by Cultural Night on the same venue on July 24.

On July 25 at 5 pm, a solemn procession will start at Sta. Ana Church to be followed by the Karera ng mga Bangkang Lunday the following day, July 26 at 6 am – 10 am.

The Taguig River Festival culminates on the Fisherman’s Feast “Pasubo” at 11 am on Monday, to be followed by the grand fluvial parade “Pagodahan”  from 1 pm – 4 pm along the river.

The fluvial parade features the traditional distribution and exchanges of indigenous food and goods of the city by residents while on board their own respective motorized boats.

Cayetano said her goal is to transform the Taguig River into one that is bustling with cultural, commercial and tourism activities, at par with the Marikina River.

“We have taken upon ourselves to take on the big challenge of cleaning the Taguig River. We will once again enlist the support not only of all the local government officials but also of the church, non-government organizations, people’s organizations, to realize this goal”.

For this to succeed, though, the mayor will need the support of the City Council for the funding allocation for the project.

Cayetano said it is important to get the support of the people who must act to stop the indiscriminate throwing or dumping of trash in the tributary.

Hundreds of informal settlers, not to mention illegal encroachers, presently live along the banks of the river, adding to the water pollution.

The new clean-up program would ensure that all wastes – biodegradable and non-biodegradable – would be properly segregated, composted or recycled.

The cleanup had so far resulted in the collection of 50 tons of garbage from the river since it began last July 13.

Officials manning the cleanup said they’ve encountered difficulties in the operation because some their boats are now useless since their engines have been dismantled, presumably before they were turned over to the new local administration. ###