Truckloads of New Year garbage collected from Luneta

MANILA, Philippines - New Year festivities left 40 truckloads of garbage in Rizal Park in Manila which authorities tried to clean on Wednesday.

National Park Development Committee spokesperson Kenneth Montegrande said in a radio report that despite early appeals, visitors of Luneta heavily littered the area especially during the past days' revelries.

The amount of garbage, however, has already diminished by half from past year's New Year merrymaking when government agencies collected about 80 truckloads of trash.

Montegrande added that around 2,000 people visited the historical shrine since Dec. 26.

In a press briefing Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda urged the public to help Metro Manila Development Authority and local government clean up different areas.

“Let us clean up our own environment and our own places and to make it very clear that we are just as environmentally conscious as the others. Let’s keep our streets clean, let’s keep our streets safe,” Lacierda said.