PGLU AND DENR FORGE PARTNERSHIP FOR ENVIORNMENTAL AWARENESS INITIATIVES

November 12, 2022 Provincial

A Cooperation Agreement for Electronic Waste (Ewaste) Collection Event in the Province of La Union was
signed by Gov. Raphaelle Veronica “Rafy” Ortega-David, representing the Provincial Government of La Union (PGLU) and Regional Director Engr. Maria Dorica Naz-Hipe, representing the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau Region 1 (DENR-EMB R1) on November 7, 2022 at the Speaker Pro- Tempore Francisco I. Ortega Legislative Building, City of San Fernando, La Union.

The E-Waste Collection Event, which was conducted from October 24-November 3, 2022, was composed of series of awareness campaigns on proper management of Wastes from Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (WEEEs) initiated by the component Local Government Units of La Union, PGLU, and DENR-EMB Region 1. In the same event, various barangays in the province designated a temporary storage
area where the constituents could drop-off their e-wastes.

The PGLU also designated three Central Collection Sites in La Union located in Balaoan District Hospital Materials Recovery Facility, City of San Fernando Sanitary Landfill Facility, and Damortis Provincial Nursery. In her speech, Engr. Maria Dorica Naz-Hipe highlighted the strong partnership between the PGLU and DENR-EMB in steering environmental awareness like the E-Waste Collection Event and in
promoting various environmental initiatives like in Clean Air and Clean Water Programs.

Gov. Rafy, on the other hand, gave her message of support and commitment to the E-Waste Collection Event. According to her, the said activity is indeed aligned to her call of action for #LaUnionProbinsyanihan
towards the province becoming the Heart of Agri-Tourism in Northern Luzon by 2025 considering that tourism and environment work hand in hand. Provincial Government – Environment and Natural Resources Office Chief, Annalyn Rosario-Valdez, EnP, closed the program with gratitude for the continued
support and assistance imparted by DENR – EMB and other partner agencies to the Provincial Government.

She expressed her hope that the project will be sustained in the coming years. This provincewide E-Waste
Collection Event is in support to the Implementation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) Management Programs for Electric Cooperatives and Safe E-Wastes Management in the Philippines which is a project of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

This is being implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in collaboration with DENR-EMB, National Electrification Agency and the Natural Resources Development Corporation (NRDC). The overall objective of the project is the protection of public health and environment through a safe and ecological management of the country’s stockpiles of PCBs containing equipment and
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in e-waste.

Photos by: Sonny Buenaventura and Maria Gracia Revilla, PIO