More than a thousand employees, volunteers, and LGU groups gather along Long Beach to champion environmental protection and celebrate International Coastal Cleanup Day
More than 1,000 volunteers led by Megaworld employees and its corporate social responsibility arm Megaworld Foundation joined volunteers from the Office of the Mayor of San Vicente, Palawan LGUs, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD), Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO), and the Philippine Air Force for the ‘longest coastal cleanup’ in the country in celebration of International Coastal Cleanup Day.
The coastal cleanup, a testament to Megaworld’s unyielding commitment to preserving the bountiful beauty of Palawan, was conducted along the 14.7-kilometer Long Beach and yielded 882 kilograms of waste. Long Beach is the longest beach line in the Philippines, spanning the four barangays of New Agutaya, Poblacion, San Isidro, and Alimanguan, as well as the coastline along Brgy. New Villa Fria (formerly Kemdeng), where Megaworld’s 462-hectare sustainable ecotourism community Paragua Coastown is fast taking shape.
“Palawan’s biodiversity is one of the richest in the world, and we at Megaworld are committed to taking good care of it as we bring to fruition our vision of uplifting lives, impacting society, and helping shape the nation by building sustainable communities. This cleanup drive is actually the very first to cover the entire stretch of San Vicente’s Long Beach. It’s also timely because this activity forms part of our newly launched MEGreen campaign, Megaworld’s company-wide sustainability program that encourages employees to take an active part in creating a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable world in our own little way,” says JR Abustan, vice president for sales and marketing for Megaworld Palawan.
Megaworld’s commitment to sustainability in Palawan extends beyond just holding regular cleanup drives. The master plan of Paragua Coastown includes a variety of green features and facilities, such as a central material recovery facility and sewage treatment plant as part of the company’s efforts to build next-generation townships that champion growth and sustainability. There will also be LED and solar-powered street lights, a biking network, wide and tree-lined roads, and landscaped, open spaces, just to name a few.
Caring for our precious coastlines
Megaworld kicked off its coastal cleanup drives in 2015 to help ease the alarming rise of garbage generated on Boracay Island. This happens particularly when local and international tourists flock to the island during special occasions such as the LaBoracay weekend, threatening the ecosystem and putting in peril the prestige of Boracay as a world-class tourist destination.
Boracay is home to another one of the Megaworld Group’s ecotourism communities, the 150-hectare Boracay Newcoast, which is being managed and developed by Megaworld subsidiary Global-Estate Resorts, Inc.
“The Paragua Coastown cleanup drive is just the beginning of Megaworld’s many cleanup initiatives here in San Vicente. This is our way of strengthening our commitment to make sure that as we build Paragua Coastown, we also take proactive approaches to preserving the flora and fauna of this place known as the last frontier of the Philippines,” Abustan says.
