MMDA names four cleanest barangays for 2014

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Thursday named the four cleanest barangays in the metro for last year.

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said each of the four winning barangays received P1 million worth of livelihood showcases after emerging as the cleanest among the Metro’s 1,706 barangays.

Named winners are Barangay Holy Spirit (for category A) and Barangay Blue Ridge B (category D) both in Quezon City as well as Barangay Fort Bonifacio (category B) in Taguig City and Barangay New Zuniga (category C) in Mandaluyong City.

For the search, the MMDA divided the barangays into four categories: Category A for barangays with big income and area, Category B for middle income and middle-size area, Category C for small income/small area, and Category D for village-barangays.

MMDA General Manager Corazon Jimenez said the four barangays bested 48 other finalists as the cleanest, healthiest and best in solid waste management system.

"Barangay Power aims to motivate all barangays in Metro Manila to implement the provisions of the Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000," said Jimenez.

In sharing their best practices, Felicito Valmocina, chairman of Barangay Holy Spirit said they are the only barangay that has garbage collection independent from the Quezon City government.

To date, Valmocina said Barangay Holy Spirit has 11 garbage trucks and has its own environmental police monitoring the garbage collection and segregation.

For his part, Edwin Cruz, chairman of Barangay New Zuniga said they have to use political will to instill discipline among residents to strictly observe the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

"I personally put violators behind bars for them to learn the lessons of disposing wastes properly," said Cruz.

Joyce Medina, president of the Metro Manila Mayors Spouses Foundation (MMMSF), which is also MMDA's partner in Barangay Power, called on the winners and finalists to share their practices to their neighboring barangays.

"I hope that you can all be inspirations and good examples to others. Don't hesitate to share your programs to other barangays that are beneficial to the environment," said Medina.

Tolentino said since the inception of the Barangay Power project in 2012, they have been encouraging barangays to assume the responsibility of managing their solid wastes.

This was due to the high rate of solid waste generation in Metro Manila that remains to be one of the major development challenges of a rapidly growing urban center.

“At the rate we are going, I am proud to say that we have taken an inclusive and holistic approach to the once dysfunctional solid waste management system,” Tolentino said.

Coinciding with the awarding ceremony event was the launching of Barangay Power 2015 in which hundreds of barangays, big and small in area and income, will show off their strongest competitive advantage in keeping their respective areas clean and health.

For this year's contest, the MMDA has increased the prize to P2 million but also revised the criteria to provide more emphasis on the compliance with RA 9003.

The weight for RA 9003 compliance was increased from 40 to 60 percent with a corresponding increase in the required solid waste diversion rate from 25 to 50 percent. 

The weight for cleanliness was reduced to 20 percent from its former 60 percent.  Another 20 percent weight was devoted for livelihood development (20 percent) using recyclable materials.