Bohol beach cleanup: 4 kg of cigarette butts gathered

SUMMER PLAYGROUND A stretch of powdery white sand and clear waters have been attracting tourists to Alona Beach on Panglao Island, one of the most popular summer destinations in Bohol province. LEO UDTOHAN

PANGLAO, Bohol — At least 65 environmental advocates marched for 19 kilometers from Tagbilaran City to Alona Beach in Panglao town last week to raise awareness on threats facing the world’s oceans and seas and clean up the beach.

At the end of the cleanup event, at least 4 kilograms of cigarette butts were collected.

Volunteers carried hand-painted placards with messages calling for a ban on single-use plastics, reduction of ocean pollution and for corporations to make it part of their responsibilities to fight plastic pollution.

Liza Macalandag, one of the organizers of March for the Ocean, said the activity highlighted the fight for tighter regulations on the use of plastics and better waste management in Bohol and elsewhere.

Plastic pollution in Bohol has been in the spotlight recently as local governments started banning plastic bags.