SA pagkilala sa pagsusumikap ni Sen. Cynthia A. Villar na linisin ang Las Pinas-Zapote River at ilan pang daluyan ng tubig sa Las Piñas City, pinili ng Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) ang siyudad sa kanilang pilot-test ng floating amphibious excavator ng Kochi Marutaka.

Sinabi ni Villar na kakayanin ng Japanese technology na na ito na bago sa Las Piñas Cityang malawak na ‘dredging’ (pagkalaykay) habang lumulutang sa mababaw na tubig.

“There is no doubt that you have chosen well. In Las Piñas, under my guidance, we are serious and very persistent in our river clean-up and rehabilitation,” ani Villar,  chairperson ng Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

Kasama ng senador at kanyang anak , Deputy Speaker Camille Villar sina JICA Rep. Takuya Hashizume, DPWH- NCR Director  Loreta Malaluan at DPWH-Bureau of Equipment  Dir. Toribio Noel Ilao at Las Pinas- Muntinlupa District Engr. Isabelo Baleros  sa paglulunsad ng JICA’s Verification Survey sa “Utilization of Floating Amphibious Excavator for the Construction Works On Disaster Management and Disaster Restoration in the Philippines.”

Ibinigay ang  project brief nina Mr. Toru Asakura of CTI Engineering International Co., Ltd. at Mr. Hiroshige Takano , chairman ng Kochi Marutaka Corporation, habang si Ms. Mikako Shimizu mula sa JICA Philippine office at Mr. Tomohiro Matsubara mula sa Embassy ng Japan sa Pilipinas ay nagbigay ng kanilang mga keynotes speeches sa nasabing  paglulunsad.
“I welcome events like this that cultivate solutions to the challenges we face to tackle disasters and mitigate its effects. As you know, the Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to disasters, it is frequented by around 20 typhoons per year, ” ayon kay Villar.

Binigyan diin niya na ang paggamit ng floating amphibious excavator ay naayon sa kayang adbokasiya na linisin ang ating mga ilog at daluyan ng tubig at ipatupad ang epektibong waste management.

Lumapit  ang Japanese group sa Las Piñas city government nang makita ang pursigidong paglilinis ni Sen.  Villar sa Las Pinas- Zapote River na nagwagi ng international environment award mula sa United Nations.

Nasa ilalim ng “Sagip Ilog Para Sa Kinabukasan” ang inisyatibo na linisin ang ilog at tanggalin ang waterlilies na nagdudulot ng matinding baha.

Ipinahayag ni Villar na nagsimula sila sa dredging ng ilog gamit ang backhoe na sa ibabaw ng barge. Ito ang kanilang teknolohiya ng mga panahong iyon.

“We have started cleaning our rivers almost 30 years ago and we are still very much into it.  While we have been successful in our river rehabilitation, we realize that to maintain the cleanliness of the rivers, it should be an everyday effort,” sabi pa niya.

Upang maenggayo  ang marami na tanggalin ang solid wastes sa mga ilog, nagtayo ang senador ng pangkabuhayan mula sa basura.

” And so we developed handicrafts out of the waterlilies that proliferate our rivers, we also found  use for the many discarded coconut husks that were thrown out to the rivers, and we also learned the practice of composting our kitchen and garden wastes,” ani Villar.

Kasama ang  Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (Villar SIPAG), itinayo nila ang  barangay-based livelihood enterprises na modelo ng wastong  waste management at magandang halimbawa kung paano gawing kapaki-pakinabang ang mga basura. (ESTONG REYES)

Photo Caption: Villars, officials JICA and DPWH in the launch of a floating amphibious excavator. Sen. Cynthia A. Villar  and House Deputy Speaker Camille Villar join  Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Rep. Takuya Hashizume, DPWH- NCR Director  Loreta Malaluan and DPWH- Bureau of Equipment  Dir. Toribio Noel Ilao and Las Pinas- Muntinlupa District Engr. Isabelo Baleros in the launching of JICA’s Verification Survey for “Utilization of Floating Amphibious Excavator for the Construction Works On Disaster Management and Disaster Restoration in the Philippines.”