Volunteers complete Lower Base cleanup

Volunteers from the Environmental Interagency Cleanup Operation Team completed its cleanup of Lower Base’s stormwater drainage and shoreline yesterday.

Some 100 members of non-profit Filipino organizations MOVER, POWER, Kampil, and Bicol Association picked up trash along the shoreline and the Lower Base road, cut overgrown branches, painted the railings at the drainage, and widened the drainage to ease the flow of water.

The groups took two Sundays to finish the cleanup because of the great amount of trash that had to be collected and the huge tree branches that blocked access to the shoreline.

Bicol Association president Lito Marquez said the Lower Base drainage was much harder to clean up because the facility stretched longer from the seashore.

MOVER president Chelita Romero thanked the volunteers and other people who supported the cleanup drive—particularly Rep. Benjamin Seman for providing the lunch, Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente for donating snacks, and Pacific Trading Inc. for providing drinks.

With Lower Base done, the groups will proceed to Tanapag next Sunday, said POWER president Corie Borja.

Yesterday’s cleanup constitutes part of EICOT’s project, which involves the cleanup of nine stormwater drainages and combing 5.5 miles of shoreline from American Memorial Park in Garapan to Paupau Beach in San Roque.

The cleanup project, funded in part by a $5,000 grant from Mobil, is expected to take eight consecutive Sundays. It is a continuation of the organization’s drainage and beach cleanup efforts from San Antonio to Garapan.

The project aims to reduce the uncontrolled flow of contaminated waste material, carcasses, and human waste into the northern lagoon, and to rid the shoreline of broken glass and other trash.

Formed in 2002, EICOT was initially composed by various government agencies such as the Coastal Resources Management Office, the divisions of Environmental Quality and Parks and Recreation; the departments of Public Health, Public Safety, Commerce and Public Works; the Marianas Visitors Authority; the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.; and the Saipan Mayor’s Office.

EICOT later gained the participation of private groups such as Filipino organizations MOVER, POWER, KAMPIL and Bicol Association, and private firm CTSI Logistics, Inc.