Cleanest villages found in QC, Taguig, Mandaluyong

Two villages in Quezon City and one each in Taguig and Mandaluyong emerged as the cleanest and healthiest villages in a competition held by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

At the awarding ceremony for Barangay (village) Power 2014 held Thursday, Barangay Holy Spirit in Quezon City was declared the winner in Category A while Taguig City’s Barangay Fort Bonifacio won in Category B. Barangay New Zaniga in Mandaluyong City topped Category C and Barangay Blue Ridge B in Quezon City won in Category D.

They bested 48 other finalists for being the cleanest, healthiest and the best in solid waste management among the 1,706 villages in Metro Manila.

The winners will each receive P1-million worth of livelihood assistance in the form of environmental projects.

Category A is for villages with a big income and area, while B is for middle income and middle-sized villages. Category C covers villages with a small income and area, while self-governing villages within villages are under Category D.

According to MMDA General Manager Corazon Jimenez, “Barangay Power aims to motivate all villages in Metro Manila to implement Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.”

“At the rate we are going, I am proud to say that we have taken an inclusive and holistic approach to the once-dysfunctional solid waste management system,” MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino said.

The agency launched Barangay Power in 2012 to encourage villages to assume the responsibility of managing their solid waste, in view of the swelling volume of garbage generated by households in the capital.

The villages were rated based on the absence of all kinds of garbage on streets, sidewalks, drains, estero, and canals; the adoption of a city or municipal ordinance against littering; the apprehension of litterbugs and compliance with the provisions of RA 9003.

During the awarding ceremony, the MMDA announced that for the 2015 Barangay Power competition, the prize has been raised to P2 million per winner.

The criteria for judging are also revised to put more emphasis on the villages’ compliance with RA 9003.