Trash-talking village chief goes ballistic

SAN PEDRO CITY—It was such a stern warning against reckless dumping of trash on the streets that it immediately drew the attention of residents of Santo Angel village in San Pablo City and of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Written in bold, red letters on a 2-meter-by-4-meter tarpaulin, the warning read: “To all passersby, dumping trash here is prohibited. If we catch you, you sons of bitches, we will take you out with your trash. —Chairman ‘Dok’ Ticzon.”

Apparently inspired by trash-talking President Rodrigo Duterte, the warning was hung two weeks ago in a part of the village of 10,000 where houses were sparse.

Crass message

A picture of the warning was shared on social media, with some users saying they found the message crass.

Facebook user Susan Detillo said she was worried about the effects of the warning on children.

She also protested the use of foul language in government communication.

Elmor N Thess Monteiro, another Facebook user, found the warning a “good example of an action influenced by the President.”

The combustible Mr. Duterte is notorious for his foul language, for which he does not apologize and which his aides defend as his style of “messaging.”

Reached by cell phone on Thursday, Cesarito Ticzon, Santo Angel village chief, said the warning was his idea.

He said he had received calls from the DILG telling him the sign would be pulled down if the public complained.

Not afraid

“I’m not afraid of that,” Ticzon said. “I only want to keep our village clean.”

Ticzon, a dentist, said trash dumping in that part of the village had always been a problem and he blamed the mess on neighboring Rizal and Nagcarlan towns.

“We would go through the trash and find IDs, bills and receipts [that could be traced to the two towns],” he said.

He said the village council had tried preventive measures, such as installing streetlights in the area and imposing penalties, but nothing worked.

“One time we sent the garbage back where it came from, [but] they did not care,”  he said. “So I thought maybe [this warning would] scare them a bit.”

‘Just words’

Asked to explain the “we will take you out with your trash” in the warning, he said: “Those are just words that mean we will put you where your garbage is.”

People should not worry about something like Mr. Duterte’s brutal war on drugs, with bullet-riddled bodies being found on trash heaps, as Ticzon gave assurance that he did not mean physical harm to anyone.

He denied, however, that the measure was inspired by President Duterte.