Navotas fines more than a thousand violators of sanitation ordinance

The Navotas municipal government apprehended and fined more than a thousand individuals for violation of the town’s environmental sanitation ordinance.

Lito Osete, chief of the town’s Environmental Sanitation Office, in his report to Mayor Toby Tiangco last week, said that the ESO has recorded a total of 1,271 violators of sanitation ordinance 2002-12 from January to June this year.

The violators were either fined P200 to P1,000, depending on the gravity of the offense, or were told to render community service under the supervision of the Community Service Office as penalty.

The strict implementation of the environmental sanitation ordinance in Navotas has also resulted in the filing of 233 cases for gross violators. Around 312 were also made to render community service while other offenders opted to pay corresponding fees as penalty.

Apart from the fine, violators were also compelled to attend a seminar to inform them about town’s existing sanitation law.

Of the 1,271 apprehended, around 300 were Navotas residents while others were transients.

Osete said that the anti-littering law in his town is strictly being enforced to instill discipline among residents and visitors. This, he said, is part of the mayor’s Kalinga sa Kapaligiran program.

Navotas has been voted thrice as the cleanest municipality in Metro Manila in 2001, 2003 and 2004.

"In order for a society to be progressive, we must first implement and strengthen all existing laws," the mayor told Navotas residents earlier as he appealed to them to do their share in maintaining Navotas’ cleanliness. — Pete Laude