Every now and then, Iloilo City rolls out a cleanup drive that produces dramatic photos: mountains of garbage hauled from waterways, hardworking volunteers, and trucks groaning under the weight of the day’s collection. The recent extraction of 2.3 tons of mixed waste from a tributary of the Jaro River in Barangay Cubay is another entry in this familiar cycle. But these cleanups, however well-intentioned, are Band-Aid solutions to a festering wound. The latest discovery of refrigerator casings and possible industrial discards in the Cubay section, as reported by this paper yesterday, is not the result of ordinary household negligence. It points to something far more worrisome — a dumping problem involving culprits that know exactly what they are doing and are confident they can get away with it.

River cleanups are not a cure [Opinion]. (2025, December 11). Panay News, p. 6.