Manila Mayor Lito Atienza supervised the destruction of the pornographic materials held at the Manila City Hall quadrangle yesterday morning.
The discs were destroyed using a road roller while pornographic tabloids and magazines were soaked in drums of water, then dried for use as charcoal.
The mayor said the smut materials were seized during a three-day operation along the streets of Raon, Carriedo and Evangellista, all in Quiapo.
Atienza ordered over the weekend an all-out citywide campaign against smut materials, which proliferate not only in the city, but all over the country.
He also said that 17 persons were arrested in the act of selling the smut tabloids, magazines, DVDs and VCDs.
But Atienza pointed out that the campaign should not stop with the dealers and vendors who merely sell the items on the streets.
"I want the financiers and publishers of these pornographic materials arrested, prosecuted and jailed. We want to get those responsible for the proliferation of this garbage. Pornographic materials pollute the minds of our youth, he said.
Atienza revealed that authorities are also gearing up for a raid of publishing houses that print the smut publication.
The locations of the factories producing the pornographic discs are being identified. He noted, however, that the names and addresses indicated in the smut publications were fictitious.
— Cecille Suerte Felipe