PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The campaign against single-use plastic straws in Palawan under the “Skip-the-Straw” (StS) project has gained additional support on Saturday after eight restaurant establishments agreed to stop offering plastic straws to customers.
The signing of the agreement was led by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) and the JCI Puerto Princesa Peacock, Inc. (JCIPPPI or Peacock Jaycees) at SM City Puerto Princesa.
“Our goal in the chapter is to protect our marine life, especially the sea turtles that think of them as food. We wish to encourage restaurant establishments, eateries, and even hotels, to help clean the oceans by no longer offering single-use plastic straws to their clients,” Peacock Jaycees president Zahren Vila Magrata said.
The MOA was signed by the PCSD with Hibiscus Garden Inn, Campsite by Kusina ni Tito Ernie’s, Tatang’s Boneless Lechon, Coco Garden Café, Crenzo’s Canteen and Catering Services, Sabie Bakes Café, Divine Sweets Cafe and Bakery, and Ancient Dynasty Kitchen.
Jessaids Daquer, former president of the organization, said the eight establishments that signed the agreement bring the number of restaurants, which agreed to skip using plastic straws, to 26.
“We have brought the campaign outside of Palawan to Mindanao under the Life Below Water and the Clean Water for Community projects of the JCI region and national offices, where local chapters are now encouraging restaurant owners not to use plastic straws and instead bring their own mugs or tumblers,” she said.
Daquer said the StS was initiated in Palawan under a partnership project with PCSD under her term as president of the Peacock Jaycees.
PCSD’s Atty. Adelina Villena said the collaboration with the Peacock Jaycees is “very important” in the pursuit of reducing plastic pollution in the ocean.
“Of course, this is really very important to us. We are thankful for the social responsibility of our partners, which addresses the future of our sea turtles. We have been fighting against the destruction of our environment in Palawan, and these plastic straws do not only affect our sea turtles but other marine wildlife as well,” she said.
For her part, Siobe Yu of the Ancient Dynasty Kitchen, said her goal to use less plastic has pushed her to regularly ask servers to skip straws in her drinks.
“The goal of the Skip-the-Straw is very admirable, which is to protect the environment. I think for our business, it is good to join and implement this to protect the sea turtles and other marine wildlife,” she said.
The MOA signing was done in celebration of the JCI Week, a weeklong activity simultaneously adopted by all chapters of JCI Philippines.
This year, the festivities ran from April 15 to 21, 2018 chaired by Peacock Jaycees executive vice president Mabelle Castro. (Celeste Anna Formoso/PNA)
