Paje: Cleaning up environment starts at DENR office

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje

MANILA, Philippines—For employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, cleanliness should begin in the office.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje has declared every last Friday of the month as “clean-up day” for the entire department, saying the 22,000 DENR employees nationwide must be at the front lines of efforts to keep the environment unspoiled.

“DENR must serve as the example in keeping the environment clean. And this drive should also be soon implemented in all government offices,” Paje said in a statement.

During the agency’s flag-raising ceremony on Monday, the environment chief reminded the DENR employees that “every little trash that is irresponsibly handled and disposed of, whether land based or marine based, affects not only our local environment but also our marine environment.”

“Coastal clean-up actually begins in everyone’s backyard and is the duty and responsibility of everyone,” he said. September is the International Coastal Clean-Up Month.

Paje added that the effort to boost the country’s anti-pollution and waste management drives would also address the flooding problem and other dangers linked to the environment, such as dengue and other infectious diseases.

Paje emphasized the need for the kind of public service that stems from the purity of the civil servants’ commitment to be of service to the country. He said the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo was one example.