Chevron volunteers clear Batangas shores in time for pawikan nesting season
In the name of volunteerism and diversity, Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI), marketer of the Caltex fuel and lubricants, united 298 volunteers composed of employees, contractors, business partners and community residents for its annual coastal clean-up at the Chevron terminal beachfront, in San Pascual, Batangas.
The volunteers collected more than 300 bags of trash, debris, and driftwood which can harm marine life in Batangas Bay. The collected garbage was segregated to biodegradables, recyclables, and non-recyclable materials totaling over 3.5 metric tons. The volunteers donated a total of 894 work hours at the terminal’s coastline, which was left at its dirtiest state after Typhoon Glenda hit the Philippines last July.
In the past eight years, CPI has seen the growing support of its workforce and the local community for the annual activity. This year’s clean up received the highest recorded participation from over 30 Caltex retailers and 44 new volunteers made up of security guards, tank-truck drivers, parents and youth from church groups, and other residents of San Pascual.
The activity was conducted in time for the seasonal nesting of endangered Olive Ridley turtles between September to December at the terminal’s beachfront, the only DENR-declared sanctuary for said turtles in the municipality. Last year, a nest of 101 eggs was discovered a few days after the clean-up. Chevron Batangas employees trained in pawikan encounters protected the nest in partnership with DENR, resulting in 69 turtle hatchings that returned to the sea a few months after.
The beach clean-up is the culminating activity of CPI’s annual Week of Caring, a week-long volunteerism activity when employees and business partners serve communities where CPI operates.
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