CH employees retrieve 20 sacks of garbage from market drainage

CEBU, Philippines - Officials and employees of the city government of Mandaue yesterday retrieved more than 20 sacks of garbage, mostly plastic from clogged up drainage in the fish section of the city’s new public market.

“This is to show that cleanliness of the public market is everybody’s concern,” said Councilor Jimmy Lumapas, who led some 100 government employees in cleaning up the drainage canals and other areas of the market, picking up litter, segregating it, and delivering it to the market’s  Material Recovery Facility.

Market administrator Musoline Suliva said they concentrated their effort in unclogging the drainage in the fish section.

It was found out the drainage system is insufficient since PBC pipes instead of culverts were installed.

Engr. Marivic Cabigas of the engineering department later identified the solution: divert the drainage saying they will work on this immediately.

Vendors denied reports that some of them opposed to the transfer of public market intentionally threw plastic.

“We cannot do that for we are required to segregate our garbage and clean up our areas otherwise we will be penalized,” said Sharmaine Pilapil, a fish vendor, in the vernacular.

In reaction to the drive, some vendors also cleaned up their respective areas.

Inspired by the positive results of the two-hour cleanup, Suliva said he will recommend to the market authority to regularize the cleanup every month.

At the same time, he vowed to penalize more vendors who dispose of their garbage indiscriminately.

He said some 40 vendors were issued citation tickets and fine P500, inside two weeks after the local anti-littering law was strictly enforced. (FREEMAN)