BOHOL DEVELOPS A MOBILE APP TO TRACK DOWN AND COMBAT PLASTIC POLLUTION

BOHOL DEVELOPS A MOBILE APP TO TRACK DOWN AND COMBAT PLASTIC POLLUTION

There is something refreshing about seeing a province outside Metro Manila come up with an innovative solution to a very serious national problem.

Bohol has adopted the “PlastiZen Basura Patroller,” a citizen-science mobile application that allows residents, visitors and organizations to report plastic pollution by simply taking a photograph and submitting it anonymously. The application automatically records the location, creating geotagged information that can be used to identify pollution hotspots.

Bohol has separately been expanding its provincial ecological solid-waste management structure, which makes the app particularly timely. 

What makes this initiative particularly interesting is that it was developed through cooperation among the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI), Bohol Island State University (BISU), UP Baguio, DOST-PCIEERD and the Provincial Government of Bohol.

The project was formalized through a Memorandum of Agreement involving the Provincial Government, through the Bohol Provincial Environment Management Office, UP MSI and BISU on July 31, 2026.

I find this significant for another reason.

It proves once again that “Imperial Manila” does not have a monopoly of good ideas and good talent.

In fact, the project demonstrates a combination that I have long been advocating: an SUC, an LGU and an NGA working together.

In this case, we have UP and BISU representing academe, Bohol representing local government, and DOST providing national government support and funding. This is a powerful combination that can produce practical solutions to practical problems.

The application feeds information into PlastiCount Pilipinas, an open-source marine-plastic tracking platform, where data can be analyzed to identify trends and pollution concentrations. The resulting maps can help LGUs determine where collection, enforcement and preventive measures should be concentrated.

But I noticed something missing from the reported partnership.

There was no mention of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) or the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Since this is an ICT-enabled project, DICT could contribute significantly to technology standards, connectivity, interoperability, cybersecurity and nationwide deployment.

Since this is fundamentally an environmental project, DENR should also have a major role, particularly because the National Plan of Action for the Prevention, Reduction and Management of Marine Litter aims for “Zero Waste to Philippine Waters by 2040.”

But it is not too late.

My suggestion is simple: let us replicate the Bohol model nationwide.

Every province has at least one state university or college that could work with its LGU and relevant national government agencies.

We have tried countless approaches to controlling plastic pollution. Yet plastic continues to find its way into our rivers, drainage systems, beaches and oceans.

So why not give this new idea a chance?

And if any LGU needs assistance in developing a GIS-based, geotagged pollution heatmap, I would be glad to help.

Perhaps the road to cleaner communities does not always begin in Manila.

Sometimes, it begins in Bohol.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres  iseneres@yahoo.com  senseneres.blogspot.com  09088877282/08-20-2027