Iloilo City Gov. Niel D. Tupas Sr. committed the provincial government to join the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) involving many countries cleaning their beaches of garbage slated September 21. And for that, he asked public schools to join the activity as a way to teach students that clean shores also meant vibrant fishery resources for Ilonggos. The government wrote Dr. Raymundo Lapating that in the letter dated August 28 after he received a letter from Dr. Rolando Platon, chief of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) based in Tigbauan town, 20 kilometers south of this city, requesting Tupas to urge maritime towns and public schools to join the world coastal cleanup.

Melliza, P. (2002, September 02). Tupas asks schools to join world coastal cleanup. The Visayas Examiner, p. 5.