By Catherine Teves/PNA
MANILA — Environment watchdog Greenpeace will open to the public its iconic Rainbow Warrior, the world’s first purpose-built environmental campaigning ship.
Aside from the opportunity to tour the Rainbow Warrior, boarding this ship during its Manila leg will be a chance for people to observe the plastics-contaminated Manila Bay, which is currently undergoing rehabilitation.
The Rainbow Warrior will be at the Port of Manila on March 2 and 3 for the open boat before sailing to Cebu for another round of open boat on March 15 and 16.
“People can board and see Rainbow Warrior for free, meet its crew and hear their stories,” Greenpeace public engagement campaigner Tina Pedraya said.
The Rainbow Warrior will return to the Philippines, this time on its “Ship the Plastic Back” tour, to promote Greenpeace’s global campaign against plastics pollution.
“That campaign highlights the plastics pollution problem,” she said.
According to Greenpeace, the Philippines is constantly named as one of the top polluters of plastics in the ocean, among other Asian countries.
The plastic campaign aims to significantly contribute to minimizing the proliferation of plastics in the country.
“The ongoing Manila Bay rehabilitation has put a spotlight on how we Filipinos are doing our part to clean our country. The cleanup has produced picture-perfect results, as we have seen on social media, but we have to remember that trash will always find its way to Manila Bay if we don’t address plastic pollution at source,” said Abigail Aguilar, campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines.
For the tour inside the Rainbow Warrior, Pedraya said Greenpeace will accommodate people by batches on dates they selected to be on the ship. It will take about half an hour for a batch to go around it, she noted.
People interested in visiting the Rainbow Warrior must pre-register at the Eventbrite page shipitback.eventbrite.com.
