Palace urges public to help curb improper waste disposal

Malacañang on Tuesday called for greater public and barangay-level action against improper waste disposal after a massive volume of garbage clogged waterways in Metro Manila amid heavy rains and triggered widespread flooding.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the “sea of trash” was a major factor hampering the flow of floodwaters, underscoring the need for both government intervention and public cooperation.

“Lubha po talagang nakakabigla in a way na isa ito sa makikita nating dahilan sa hindi pagdaloy ng tubig sa lagusan (It is truly shocking, in a way, that this turns out to be one of the reasons why water isn't flowing through the conduit),” Castro said during a Palace briefing.

Castro said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has repeatedly called for proper waste management, but stressed that government efforts to clear waterways would have limited impact if residents continued dumping garbage indiscriminately.

“Hindi po kakayanin ng gobyerno na magtrabaho nang magtrabaho pero ang ating mga kababayan ay pabaya nang pabaya tapos magtuturo kung sino ang may kasalanan. Lahat po tayo dito ay dapat kumilos (The government cannot simply keep working while our fellow citizens become increasingly negligent and then point fingers at who is to blame. We all need to take action),” she said.

Castro urged village officials to step up enforcement against illegal dumping, particularly by making use of closed-circuit television cameras to identify violators.

She said stronger enforcement, including penalties for improper waste disposal, should be pursued to prevent garbage from accumulating in waterways.

“Tayo rin po lahat ang magiging biktima nito, ng mga basurang itinapon natin, talagang babalik at babalik sa atin (We will all fall victim to this, the trash we have thrown away will inevitably come back to haunt us),” she said.

The government has been conducting clearing and dredging operations in flood-prone waterways amid the continuing effects of the southwest monsoon and recent tropical cyclones.

Marcos also pushed for a waste-to-energy program that would process garbage for power generation as part of broader efforts to address the country’s waste management problem and reduce the volume reaching waterways.

-Darryl John Esguerra/Philippine News Agency