Metro Manila mayors set P5,000 fine for illegal garbage dumping

Officials of the Metropolitan Manila Development authority (MMDA), Department of the Interior and Local Government convene with mayors from the National Capital Region during a Metro Manila Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept, 16, at the MMDA head office. INQUIRER.net / MARY JOY SALCEDO

MANILA, Philippines — The Metro Manila Council (MMC) has passed a resolution directing Metro Manila mayors to impose a maximum fine of P5,000 on individuals caught illegally dumping garbage in public places.

San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, MMC president,  announced this development in a press conference on Tuesday after the MMC meeting at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) office in Pasig City.

READ: Zamora pushes for higher fines vs. illegal dumping in Metro Manila

“The [MMC] has agreed that we will now have a standard fine of P5,000 for those caught dumping garbage in the wrong places, including our rivers, creeks, canals, and our streets—those improperly dispose of garbage in improper places,” Zamora said in Filipino.

Zamora mentioned the recent inspection he conducted with MMDA chair Don Artes at Lambingan Bridge in San Juan, where “massive” waste was retrieved from the river.

“No matter how much we improve our drainage systems, no matter how much we enlarge the waterway, if it is filled with garbage, we will still continue to face the problem of flooding. So this is something we have agreed on,” the MMC president said in Filipino.

Zamora noted that every mayor in Metro Manila will pass an ordinance to implement the resolution in their respective cities.

“In case the fines in our cities are different now, we have agreed that we will amend our ordinance so that the fine will be the same at P5,000,” he said.

According to the San Juan City mayor, the ordinance in his city was already amended on Monday for the P5,000 fine for their anti-littering regulation.

“And what we did was deputize our city government staff, our public order safety office, task force disiplina, our police force, our barangay officials, and barangay guards,” Zamora added.

“So under the local ordinance, once you deputize these personnel of the city government and the barangays, they will now be allowed to issue violation tickets here to those caught illegally throwing garbage,” he said in Filipino.

‘Pateros exempted’

The municipality of Pateros, however, is exempted from the measure, which sets P2,500 fine in their area.

Pateros Mayor Gerald German noted that under the local government code, or the Republic No. 7160, cities are empowered to fine a maximum of P5,000, while municipalities will be P2,500.

“So for Pateros, since we are a municipality, the maximum penalty line for littering will be P2,500 only,” German said in a mix of Filipino and English.

Law-abiding citizens need not worry

Zamora emphasized that the public should not worry about the increased P5,000 fines if they would dump their waste in proper places.

“Who will be fined here? The only ones who will be fined are those who throw garbage in the wrong place. So, don’t worry about the P5,000 fine if you don’t throw garbage,” he pointed out in Filipino.

“That’s what we want to instill in the minds of our citizens; that’s why we are increasing the fine so that we don’t throw garbage in the wrong place. And that’s the discipline we want to achieve by increasing this fineo,” Zamora said.

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When asked if the fine would cover those who would only dump a candy wrapper, the MMC president said all forms of illegal littering would be liable based on the council resolution and their ordinance.

“You can’t say that a small thing is okay. But when it’s bigger trash, it’s suddenly not allowed. Why? Because the mindset should be—whether it’s big or small, the fact remains: we must not throw garbage in the wrong place,” said Zamora. /jpv