MANILA, Philippines — City workers have collected about 200 sacks of discarded plastic packaging during their cleanup of sewers and drainage channels on some parts of Recto Avenue, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno announced on Tuesday.
Much of the garbage blocking the drainage system of the road were plastic materials, according to Moreno.
The drainage pipes laid out along the avenue were about his height, the mayor said. But when they opened up them, only about an inch deep of free space remained for water to pass through freely.
“This won’t do. It’ the rainy season,” Moreno, speaking in Filpino, said at a meeting with some representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
He noted that it had been about a decade since the avenue was last decongested, leaving little space for workers to do maintenance work on the drainage system.
On his fifth day as mayor, Moreno led the clean up of sewers around Manila, particularly on Recto Avenue at the corner Juan Luna Street.
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LOOK: Isko Moreno leads cleaning of Manila’s sewers