First day of estero cleanup yields 21 truckloads of trash

A TOTAL of 21 truckloads of garbage—consisting of car spare parts, silt, plastic containers, styrofoam and cable wires—were collected from the Antipolo open canal in Sta. Cruz and Estero de Kabulusan in Tondo, both in Manila, on the first day of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s “Estero Blitz” this year.

MMDA flood control office chief Baltazar Melgar said that the 1.8-kilometer-long stretch of waterways in these areas were full of accumulated silt and garbage that had clogged the estero leading to Vitas and Tecson Streets in Tondo.

However, they have yet to clear the entire stretch since some roads leading to the waterways were too small to accommodate their backhoe.

During yesterday’s cleanup drive, the MMDA also recovered car bumpers and other vehicle parts from the estero covered by Barangay 359 Zone 36 in Sta. Cruz.

Asked for an explanation, barangay chair Jeff Ian Cabiltes told the Inquirer that these came from car repair shops in the area. The dumping of spare parts is done at night or early in the morning to avoid detection by barangay officials, he said.

“Another problem is that we cannot control the [entry] of garbage from other barangays,” Cabiltes added, noting that the most of the waste collected on Tuesday were from other barangays in Sta. Cruz and Tondo.

He said they would monitor the estero round the clock to maintain its cleanliness and prevent garbage throwing.

The MMDA earlier announced that it would ask the Office of the Ombudsman to help it go after barangay officials who neglect the waterways in their area after repeated clearing operations conducted by the agency.

It warned that should it find the waterways full of trash again, it would file a report with the Ombudsman and ask it to “determine the liability of the negligent barangay officials.”

MMDA Chair Emerson Carlos said they would continue clean-up operations for Metro Manila’s 273 esteros before the rainy season. Next on their list were Estero de Quiapo, also in Manila, and the waterways in Pasay City.