Search for Aklan's cleanest, greenest towns on
Kalibo, Aklan -- The search is on for this year's cleanest and greenest town in Aklan.
The go signal for this year's search came officially through Aklan Governor Carlito Marquez' Executive Order No. 40 organizing Aklan's 2007 Gawad Pangulo Sa Kapaligiran Provincial Search Committee and Assessment Team.
As in the past clean and green contests conducted nationwide since 1993, the search has two categories, A for first to 3rd class municipalities, and B for 4th to 6th class municipalities.
For the first time in Aklan in the clean and green search, however, three towns will now vie for the number 1 position under Category A. When before, Kalibo has lorded it over since the search started as the lone contender for Category A making the capital town an automatic provincial winner and the provincial bet to the regional search, Kalibo will now fight it out with Malay and Ibajay towns, both located in the western part of Aklan.
Evaluators coming from the different national and provincial officers here have started going around the province to assess the municipalities on general cleanliness, best practices in urban greening, support systems and community mobilization.
Throughout the evaluation schedule, evaluators will visit and assess the towns' municipal halls, day care centers, health centers, hospitals, public markets, restaurants, transportation terminals, gasoline stations, public toilets and other utilities.
Dump facilities, slaughterhouses, schoolsites with Gulayan ng Bayan, coastal areas or riversides, reforested public/private upland areas, watersheds, tree-lines thoroughfares, parks, other public places and landmarks will also be visited by the evaluators.
This year's Provincial Search Committee is composed of Gov. Carlito S. Marquez as Honorary Chairperson; Victorio Pagapulan, DILG, Chairperson with Didi Quimpo, NGO representative as Co-Chairperson; Baltazar Gerardo of DENR, Vice Chairperson; with Phoebe E. Quisoy, PIA, Roselle Q. Ruiz, Provincial Tourism Operations Officer, Delano T. Tefora, OPA, Dr. Emma T. Cortes, PHO, and Dr. Victorina Laroza, Schools Division Superintendent, DeptEd.
Governor Marquez said the Clean and Green search in Aklan is in line with the province' environmental programs and in response to directives on the Gawad Pangulo Sa Kapaligiran.
Greening the country is one of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's 8 by '08 priority programs – Green Philippines, which involves protection and improvement of the environment.
The GPK contest result in Aklan is expected to be out by October 19. During the early years of the clean and green search, the town of Banga has emerged as the regional and national winner. (PIA)