PICE-Qatar members promote environmental protection after cleaning up a stretch of the Dukhan beach.
By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
Members and officers of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE)-Qatar chapter held a beach cleanup on Friday in a bid to promote environmental preservation.
Every member was given a black plastic bag to pick up waste along a stretch of the Dukhan beach line. All plastic bags were placed in a designated area for collection.
“Our message to the community is that if we cannot contribute to the preservation of the environment then let us not be the instrument in destroying its beauty,” PICE president Arnel Punsalan said.
Part of the organisation’s aim is to promote the professional development of each member and support socio-civic activities that will be beneficial to the host country and other communities in Qatar.
Punsalan said that God has given mankind a wonderful environment and “it is our duty as a responsible group to help preserved its beauty” through regular clean-up drives.
He added that cleaning the beach keeps beachgoers, especially children, safe from harmful objects like broken bottles and glasses.
PICE officers and members have also urged other Filipino and expatriate groups to hold the same activity.
The group is one of the many Philippine Professional organisations recognised by the Philippines embassy in Qatar. It now has almost 1,500 active members.
Apart from beach cleanups, it also holds information drives regarding special professional licensure board examination. “We are inviting all interested graduates of civil engineering to take the review course with us,” he said.
Like PICE, some Filipino groups like the Guardians and the Sigma Lambda Phi (SLP) have also conducted beach cleanup drives in Qatar last year.
Manuel ‘CNF Stallion’ Camato, a ranking officer and incorporator of Reformed and United Guardian Brotherhood Inc (RUGBII), said this kind of activity is one way of returning back the favor to Qatar which gave them employment. RUGBII is one of the seven ‘branches’ of Guardians.
“As a way of giving our sincere thanks to our host country for allowing us to work here, RUGBII members are willing to share part of their free time on this worthy cause,” said Camato. “I believe that we as overseas Filipino workers have sense of gratitude.”
He said that an average of 150 to 200 volunteers attend what they described as a “charity for the environment” which usually starts every summer.
Guadians and Sigma Lambda Phi (SLP) have earlier held a clean-up drive at Al Wakrah beach where more than 100 volunteers from each group joined the activity. Volunteers have collected both biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes.