Metro Manila, Philippines — Metro Manila mayors are backing a crackdown on littering and illegal dumping, including a proposal for a single ticketing system for waste disposal violations.
Las Piñas Rep. Mark Santos raised the proposal during the Metropolitan Manila Council (MMC) meeting Tuesday, Aug. 18, calling for “common minimum standards.” The MMC is the region’s highest governing body composed of all city and municipal mayors.
Santos also proposed the creation of dedicated, properly trained and deputized “garbage police” to ensure consistent enforcement and compliance beyond periodic cleanup drives.
San Juan Mayor and MMC president Francis Zamora said the council had agreed last year to raise the fine for improper waste disposal to ₱5,000, the maximum allowed under the Local Government Code.
Zamora said San Juan had amended its ordinance accordingly, with city and barangay personnel deputized to enforce its solid waste management rules.
“Kahit anong hakbang na gawin natin sa pagtatayo ng pumping stations, pag-improve ng drainage system, kung puro basura ang makikita natin sa mga daluyan ng tubig, babara’t babara pa rin ’yan at patuloy na mararanasan ang pagbaha,” Zamora said, adding that the MMC will form a technical working group to study the specific measures.
[Translation: Regardless of efforts to set up pumping stations, improve the drainage system, if garbage fills up waterways, these will always be clogged and flooding will remain.]
MMDA Chairman Don Artes said the agency already has an anti-littering task force, but its personnel are generally deployed in crowded areas and cannot cover the entire region.
Violators either pay the penalty or render community service, including participating in declogging operations.
“Kung nababarahan pa po ng basura ay lalong bumabagal ang paghupa ng baha,” Artes said, citing the need for a common approach to enforcement across Metro Manila.
[Translation: The flood subsides slowly because of clogging.]
Santos also proposed tapping security camera systems to identify areas with illegal dumping that may be contributing to clogged waterways and flooding.
He said enforcement, however, should be paired with better garbage collection and disposal, waste segregation, recycling, adequate waste management facilities and sustained public education.
The MMC said the technical working group will reconcile laws, including the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act and the Clean Water Act, with local ordinances and existing programs of the 17 local government units.
Portions of Metro Manila have suffered from floods from nonstop rains.
