MMDA: Over 7,000 cubic meters of waste collected in August estero blitz

Over 7,000 cubic meters of waste – enough to fill up three Olympic-size swimming pools – was collected from Metro Manila’s creeks during a month-long estero blitz last August, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said over the weekend. The MMDA said the “August Estero Blitz," which ended last Tuesday with 7,383 cubic meters of garbage and silt collected from 45 esteros (waterways). “In a month’s time, we collected 1,150 truckloads of waste from 45 esteros, diversion channels and other waterways. Although this is just one-tenth of the siltation there, you can imagine the dire effect if this huge volume of garbage continued to clog our drainage systems," MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said in a news release on the MMDA website. But he also enjoined local government units to strictly enforce easement laws that prohibit the erection of structures within a defined perimeter from the waterways. “We’re hoping that local government units, including barangays, will regularly clean their waterways on their own. Households should likewise adopt proper waste disposal practices," he said. He said the waste, enough to fill up three Olympic-size swimming pools, were collected and disposed of. He said he hopes this will reduce flooding in the metropolis. Tolentino also said the MMDA employees who took part in the blitz will get free rice packs this Monday, during the flag ceremony. The MMDA started the Estero Blitz last August 8, with the objective of cleaning up and dredging a total of 69,766 meters aggregate length of major creeks in Metro Manila. It was an offshoot of the MMDA’s “480 Minutes" cleanup activity in eight flood-prone areas in Metro Manila last July 24. August’s cleanup targeted two esteros a day in 16 cities and one municipality in Metro Manila. The MMDA-Flood Control and Sewerage Management Office and Metro Parkway Clearing Group had the most number of cleanup operations in Manila, successfully cleaning up eight creeks in four days. These include Estero de Quiapo, Estero De Vitas and the Manila portion of Tripa de Gallina and Sta. Clara creek. MMDA workers also cleaned up and dredged the San Juan River and its tributaries in San Juan City and Quezon City, including Talayan creek near Araneta Avenue. Earlier, the Supreme Court required the MMDA and other agencies to protect and preserve the country’s internal waters, rivers, shores, and seas polluted by human activities. Clogged and silted waterways were pinpointed as one of the major causes of the catastrophic flooding brought about by Tropical Storm Ondoy (Ketsana). Tolentino said that as the drainage and waterways were clogged by garbage, the esteros' water carrying capacity was greatly reduced. “Do not let another Ondoy teach us a bitter lesson. The success of our estero cleanup might be minimal, but its real objective is to awaken us to the reality that we have to care for our environment and clean our waterways," he said. — LBG, GMA News