THE problem of garbage collection in the city of Manila seems to have reached crisis levels due to the piles and mountains of garbage that have accumulated and are not being picked up by service providers in many areas of the city.
Although Manila Department of Public Service (DPS) Officer-in-Charge Jonathan Garzo admitted that service providers MetroWaste Solid Management Corp. and Philippine Ecology Systems Corp. (PhilCo) failed to meet the signed contract worth P842.7 million for garbage collection in Manila, he said they will still try to help with garbage collection.
He said that street sweepers were already deployed in many parts of the city to assist in the cleaning.
Apart from that, the Manila city government also sought the help of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to expedite the transportation of the mountains of garbage in the city.
The MMDA immediately responded to the city government’s request and began assisting in the removal of garbage scattered on the streets.
The DPS previously said that they are unable to shoulder the city’s garbage problem due to a lack of collection trucks, resulting in many areas in Manila accumulating uncollected garbage.
Due to the mountain of garbage, several areas in Manila quickly got flooded when heavy rains poured in many parts of the city.
Some residents are also concerned that the smelly garbage could cause various diseases and may affect their health.
Incoming Mayor Francisco Domagoso is also concerned about the huge garbage problem in the city because many people may get sick, especially in vulnerable sectors such as children and the elderly.
Residents are calling on outgoing Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna to take immediate action on the problem, even though she will only be in office for a few days.