Despite the community quarantines, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) never ceased to conduct cleanup drives in various rivers and coastal areas in Central Luzon. In Bulacan alone, more than 1,300 cleanup drives were conducted since the launch of “Battle for Manila Bay” on January 27, 2019, and that the effort will be further intensified this year, officials of the DENR Central Luzon Office and Bulacan Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office said in a news statement. Bulacan PENRO Emelita Lingat said the river cleanup has resulted in the collection of over 357,000 tons solid waste and was actively participated in by more than 6,000 volunteers from various locality in the province.

Mayuga, J. L. (2021, February 2). DENR reports completion of 1,300 river cleanup drives in Luzon since Jan. 2019. Business Mirror, p. A3.