Violators of anti-littering law apprehended in Navotas

The Navotas municipal government, in an effort to maintain cleanliness in this coastal town, apprehended a total of 1,629 violators of its anti-littering ordinance for the third quarter of this year.

Mayor Toby Tiangco said that apart from maintaining cleanliness and instilling discipline, the municipal government also wanted to ensure that the town’s flood control project would not be hampered by the indiscriminate throwing of garbage.

The municipal government recently launched the Kalinga sa Kapaligiran Program which aims to enhance its anti-littering drive and to create awareness among residents on the importance of proper waste disposal and cleanliness in their surroundings.

During heavy rains, most part of Navotas were submerged in floodwaters because its pumping stations cannot fully function as garbage clog its waterways.

According to Jerry Doringo, Tiangco’s public information officer, of the 1,629 apprehended for violation of Municipal Ordinance No. 2003-12 or the anti-littering regulation, 140 were charged before the fiscal’s office, 322 were rendered community service, while the rest paid the corresponding fines.

Of those apprehended, 600 were residents of the town while the rest are transients.

Doringo said that violators were meted a fine ranging from P200 to P1,000, depending on the gravity of the offense, or were required to attend a seminar or render community service.

He said that the Environmental Sanitation Office (ESO), through its 500 environmental enforcers, was primarily tasked to implement the program.

"In order for a society to be progressive, we must first implement and strengthen all existing laws. I am calling for my fellow Navoteños to do their share to maintain the cleanliness that we are now enjoying," Tiangco said.

Navotas was adjudged as Metro Manila’s cleanest town in 2001, 2003 and 2004 and the mayor wants to maintain that standing by strictly implementing its laws on orderliness and cleanliness.