MMDA's anti-body odor campaign to go full blast

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando’s anti-body odor campaign targetting bus, jeepney, and taxi drivers will go full blast following the purchase of a 50-kilogram sack of powdered tawas from Divisoria yesterday.

Aside from the traditional antidote to excessive perspiration and body odor, the agency will also be giving away anti-perspirants donated by two deodorant manufacturers.

"We are now repacking the tawas into sachets. We might start distributing tomorrow," Fernando told The Star in an interview.

He said the MMDA bought the tawas for P5,000 or P100 per kilogram. The tawas packs and deodorants will be distributed to drivers through their associations and terminals.

"Pati mga employees natin, our traffic enforcers, bibigyan natin (We will distribute tawas packs and deodorants to our own employees and traffic enforcers)," he said, stressing that the anti- body odor campaign should cover MMDA personnel as well.

The tawas packs will contain instructions on how it should be used to prevent body odor such as "Maligo Muna (take a bath first)" and "Mamasa Masa Dapat ang Kili-Kili (The armpits should be wet)."

MMDA Public Affairs Office (PAO) chief Connie Gonzales and her team have been tasked to help distribute the free anti-body odor packs with the help of traffic enforcers.

She said two deodorant manufacturers have expressed intention to help the MMDA in the awareness campaign by giving out free deodorants and colognes. "We have Unilever, maker of Rexona, which is also an MMDA partner in the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, and Cosmetiques Asia, which pledged 1,500 pieces of free deodorant samples and colognes.

Fernando launched his anti-body odor campaign two weeks ago to complement the agency’s "Metro Gwapo" project which seeks to make Metro Manila a better place for everyone. The agency’s traffic enforcers will not issue traffic violations against smelly drivers, however, since there is no law that penalize people with bad odor.

However, Fernando believes that personal hygiene is a personal responsibility, especially among drivers who deal and mingle with other people everyday.