Isang dayuhang Australiano, nanguna sa paglilinis ng mga basura sa Cebu City

Transcript

00:00A group cleaned up the trash in Cebu City.

00:05Meanwhile, they are calling on the public to help solve this problem that is affecting health and safety.

00:14This is the story of Jesse Atienza.

00:21It is not new for the residents of Barangay Pasil that this thick garbage has reached Pampang.

00:27But today, one person is leading in cleaning this up.

00:31He is an Australian named Mike Smith.

00:34He has been cleaning up garbage for more than a year in different parts of the country.

00:39And this is the 29th place that they have visited.

00:57According to Smith, it is a big responsibility of the residents in terms of waste management.

01:13Especially for the residents who live near the rivers where the water that carries garbage to the sea flows.

01:28And so we visited right to the top of the Guadalupe River in the mountains and the water is crystal clear and there's no rubbish.

01:33And as you come along the Guadalupe River and get closer to the city, there's more and more rubbish.

01:38The water gets dirtier and darker.

01:40And this right here is the mouth of the river.

01:42So literally, any person who lives along the Guadalupe River is responsible for this.

01:47It's not just these people here.

01:57Their garbage comes here to us.

02:00After the rain, the garbage comes to us.

02:05Within 10 days, Mike's group and the people who helped them collected almost 200,000 kilos of garbage.

02:13That's why they are calling on everyone.

02:16I think it starts with companies, right?

02:19Because the companies are the ones who are producing this plastic and making money out of this.

02:23And there are lots of alternatives now other than plastic.

02:26So all of these companies who are making these things need to have a look in the mirror

02:30and realize that they're making money by destroying our planet.

02:34And then individuals need to have a think about this stuff as well and try and buy alternatives.

02:39And if they have to buy this stuff, it needs to go in the rubbish bin.

02:42Not on the street, not in the river, not on the beach.

02:45Their group will return to the country this November to continue their advocacy.

02:51The group of Smiths in Australia, Indonesia, and Egypt was the first to clean up abroad.

02:57From PTV Cebu, Jesse Atienza for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.