MANILA, Philippines - Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando said yesterday the agency is set to conduct an extensive cleanup of R. Hidalgo and Arlegui streets in Quiapo in response to Manuel L. Quezon’s University (MLQU) officials’ request for assistance to remove all obstructions and eyesores around the school campus.
“We will be removing all the clutter and obstructions as soon as possible,” Fernando told MLQU officials, faculty members, and students when he visited the university recently.
He said he will coordinate with Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim for the removal of illegal vendors and illegal structures that have occupied the sidewalks such as eateries, makeshift stalls, and even kiosks of notary publics.
MLQU vice president for planning and development Candido Dizon told Fernando that the environment around the school has become “much less conducive for educational pursuits.”
He noted that the once clear estero near the school is clogged with garbage. “The traffic congestion caused by too many jeepneys plying the streets also added to the problem, made much worse by the countless homeless persons sleeping on the sidewalks. These and others have contributed to the deterioration of what was once a clean neighborhood,” Dizon said.
Dizon said the student population has declined to a pitiful 2,000 from 22,000 two years ago. Students have also complained that too many of them have fallen victim to pickpockets and snatchers along R. Hidalgo Street, particularly at night.
Fernando said he will direct the MMDA Street Dweller Care Unit to round up the street beggars and homeless persons around the school and transfer them to the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“We will also be removing all those illegally-parked vehicles along R. Hidalgo because these further congest the roadway. We will be designating parking spaces for them,” he said.
Fernando also vowed to beautify the area by having dilapidated houses, buildings, and sidewalks fixed as well as installing a sufficient number of lampposts along R. Hidalgo street. – Rhodina Villanueva