(May 8, 2012) Together with the municipalities all over Sultan Kudarat, Tacurong City conducted the Provincial-wide Clean-up Drive last May 7, 2012. More than 100 SPES grantees from the Local Government Unit of Tacurong, Southern Mindanao Institute of Technology (SMIT), and Notre Dame of Tacurong College (NDTC) participated in the said project.
Assigned areas for the clean-up drive were the public market and the city streets of Tacurong. Participants swept, trimmed the grasses, and accumulated garbage from 9:00 to 10:30 in the morning. This clean-up drive was in coordination with the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), who collected the wastes for proper disposal after the cleaning. One of the SPES grantees from LGU-Tacurong, Reny Leen Matta, said, “As a SPES beneficiary and as a Tacurongnon, I realized that I have a great obligation and responsibility in terms of making our city clean and beautiful. Even though it can only be considered as a little help, I know that it already means a lot.”
The Provincial-wide Clean-up Drive is not a part of the regular programs of SPES. This was incorporated during the employment period of the grantees to raise environmental awareness and protection among youth, as well as to help the City Government in their advocacy to make the environment clean and green. (Ariesha Faith Martinez Dimaano)