THE Metro Manila Council is mulling hiking the penalty for haphazard dumping of garbage to deter violators.
The MMC, whose members are the 17 Metro mayors, is the policy-making body of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
“Well, we are discussing it with the Metro Manila Council,” MMDA Chairperson Romando Artes told reporters in a chance interview after he and San Juan City Mayor and Francis Zamora inspected the operation of the “Bayanihan sa Estero” clean-up program at the Lambingan Bridge along the San Juan River.
Zamora said under local ordinances, the maximum fine for violators is P5,000.
“This is something that we will discuss. MMDA Chairman Artes of course is the chairman of the MMC and I’m sure he will include it in the agenda of our next meeting and we will push for higher penalties” Zamora said.
“If we will not discipline ourselves, flooding will be a recurring problem, so everyone should understand that if we want to address flooding, discipline will play a big part in it,” he said in Filipino.
To illustrate the problem, the MMDA said more than two truckloads of garbage were already removed in the cleanup of the Lambingan Bridge area in San Juan river yesterday as part of the “Bayanihan sa Estero” program which focuses on systematically removing accumulated wastes from esteros and rivers across Metro Manila.
The program is part of the MMDA’s response to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s socio-economic agenda, which aims to strengthen the country’s disaster resilience and clean up drainage infrastructures to prevent flooding in Metro Manila.
“This clean-up drive seeks to reinstate the natural flow of waterways, reduce flooding, and foster environmental sustainability and accountability throughout Metro Manila,” Artes added.
The agency deployed backhoes, cranes, and dump trucks for the cleanup and dredging operations.
Zamora acknowledged the problem as he appealed to his constituents not to use the waterways as dumping ground of their waste materials.
“As the San Juan River is considered downstream, the water quickly overflows and floods our area during heavy rains. Also, San Juan City has 113 barangays which are low-lying areas and adjacent to the San Juan River that are always affected by floods, so these clean-up efforts greatly help our city,” Zamora said.
Earlier, Artes blamed the haphazard dumping of garbage as among main causes of flooding in the metropolis.
Artes said garbage and debris flooding the MMDA’s pumping stations could affect the stations’ operations, especially during heavy downpour when they have to operate for longer period of time.
He said the public should practice responsible garbage disposal and not to use canals, creeks and other waterways as their garbage bin.
The MMDA chief said keeping the metropolis garbage-free is not only the work of the MMDA and local government units but also the public. – With Christian Oineza
