Portal Login | Search
Corporate Social Responsibility October 09, 2017

LANDBANK’s Manila Bay SUNSET Partnership Program introduces PET Bottle Rescue Boats

(Photo on left) Senator Cynthia A. Villar is joined by LANDBANK Executive Vice President Julio D. Climaco, Jr. (5th from left), LANDBANK First Vice President/MBSPPI President Catherine Rowena B. Villanueva, and Miss Earth Foundation representatives, with a completed PET bottle rescue boat. Volunteers (photo on right) made four PET bottle rescue boats during the Annual Manila Bay SUNSET Clean-up.

The Manila Bay SUNSET Partnership Program Inc. (MBSPPI) takes another step forward in its efforts towards a cleaner Manila Bay as it launched its latest project on Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Bottle Rescue Boat Making. The launch formed part of the LANDBANK Manila Bay Clean-up in celebration of the Bank’s 54th anniversary.

The rescue boats are made up of 700 pieces of recycled two-liter PET bottles. This was developed by non-profit organization Tzu Chi Foundation and was introduced to MBSPPI by one of its partners, Villar SIPAG at Tiyaga Foundation, Inc., which redesigned the rescue boat to a size suitable for small waterways.

“We distribute this technology in different parts of the country and we give a sample and conduct a workshop so that they can duplicate the production of the PET bottle rescue boat. Ang maganda kasi sa (proyektong) ito ay imbis na maging basura lang yung mga PET bottles, nagagamit pa ito sa paggawa ng rescue boats,” Sen. Cynthia Villar said during the event.

Through the commitment of Landbankers and other MBSPPI partners, volunteers have completed four rescue boats out of more than 3,500 pieces of PET bottles collected and donated by partner-organizations. These rescue boats were turned-over to DPWH – NCR and MMDA to help flood-prone areas during evacuation and are now used in cleaning small tributaries (esteros) leading to Manila Bay.

“We are positive that the new PET Bottle Rescue Boat Making Program will contribute to a more sustainable clean-up efforts as these rescue boats will be used to clean small waterways leading to Manila Bay,” says LANDBANK Executive Vice President Julio D. Climaco, Jr.

Nurturing Volunteerism

Aside from contributing PET bottles, LANDBANK, along with other MBSPPI-member organizations, also activated 1,900 volunteers to help in the coastal clean-up. The combined efforts of the volunteers from various MBSPPI institutions resulted to the collection of 2,775 garbage sacks during the clean-up.

Sa tulong ng LANDBANK at iba pang mga partner organization, ang hangarin kong makitang buhay muli ang Manila Bay ay naisasakatuparan na,” said Joemedes Arienda, a volunteer from the Asian Social Institute.

Also held simultaneously with the coastal clean-up and PET Bottle Rescue Boat Making was the Mabuhay Balls-making, where volunteers produced more than 6,000 pieces of Mabuhay Balls. These were fermented for at least two weeks and were dropped into an identified portion of Manila Bay to improve water quality, promote the breakdown of organic and inorganic compounds, and prevent foul odor.

Now on its 8th year, MBSPPI is the flagship corporate social responsibility program of LANDBANK which consists of various members from the public and private sectors, with the goal of protecting and rehabilitating the Manila Bay.