By Edwin Fernandez/Philippine News Agency
COTABATO CITY – Environment officials and volunteers joined hands Thursday in a simultaneous cleanup drive in Maguindanao province to mark the Environment Month.
Minister Abdulraof Macacua of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MENRE-BARMM) led environment officials in holding a coastal cleanup drive in barangays Badak and Kusiong, both in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.
Also joining the cleanup activity were representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform, Ministry of Social Services and other BARMM agencies.
Macacua said this year’s Environment Month, anchored on the theme: “Beat Air Pollution,” focuses on “all forms of cleanliness – in the air we breathe, in the water we drink, and in the environment we live in.”
Macacua said cleanliness is a fundamental concept in Islam and “should be internalized into our everyday actions.”
“Starting from your heart to your prayers, in our homes, and even in governance, cleanliness should always be practiced,” Macacua said. “We can achieve overall cleanliness when we instill sincerity in our actions and activities in the name of Allah,” he added.
Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr. Norodin Salam, meanwhile, articulated the need to “inculcate unity, spirituality, and sustainability in our daily activities to continue our efforts in protecting our environment.”
Volunteers of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), the local Moro Islamic Liberation Front political party headed by Macacua, also participated in the annual activity.
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