Las Piñas mayor declares war vs litterbugs

Starting Oct. 1, dumping of garbage on the streets and in the city’s waterways is now prohibited and illegal in Las Piñas City. Those found violating and caught will be fined P1,000 and put to jail for a maximum of six months.

Las Piñas City Mayor Vergel "Nene" Aguilar issued this statement as part of his administration’s efforts to sustain a "clean and green" campaign all over the city.

Las Piñas City has been named Metro Manila’s cleanest and greenest city for three consecutive years as well as being a United Nations Environmental Program awardee for environmental protection in 2000.

Aguilar said dumping of garbage along Alabang-Zapote Road, Naga and from Jorge Aguilar Avenue to CAA Road are now prohibited and considered illegal.

However, Aguilar explained that residents living along these areas are allowed to dump their garbage daily at a designated place or area from 11 p.m. until 4 a.m. only.Aguilar also directed Noli Riel, in charge of the city’s garbage collection and waste management, to conduct a massive information campaign among residents to avoid confusion on the new scheme on dumping of garbage in their respective areas.

Aguilar also made an appeal to city residents to manage their garbage properly by way of recycling and segregation of wet and dry garbage to reduce the volume of refuse collected daily.

Records from the city’s Environmental Sanitation Center (ESC) showed that about 600 cubic meters of garbage are collected daily in Las Piñas, equivalent to 60 garbage trucks a day.

Aguilar said his administration has to take the zero-waste management campaign seriously or else the city faces a serious problem in the dumping of garbage five years from now due to lack of suitable dumpsite.

Las Piñas City has more than 295 subdivisions and villages and a population of more than half a million this year.