Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Thursday urged city residents to practice proper waste management as the city government continues to collect tons upon tons of waste in the city’s waterways.
Based on the report of the City’s Task Force on Solid Waste Management from January to April 2021, the city was able to collect over 810,000 kilos of garbage from the 20 creeks traversing the city.
“We have been able to implement major improvements to our city’s waste management system even during this pandemic. Let us continue to support this effort. Isa pa, huwag po natin payagan ang pagtatapon ng kahit anung dumi o basura sa ating mga waterways.” Belmonte said.
She stressed that proper waste management serves as a preemptive measure to prevent flooding with the onset of the rainy season.
Clogged drainage lines and obstructed waterways often result in unexpected flooding in various roads and barangays in the city as rainwater from a heavy downpour cannot pass freely and quickly to larger bodies of water, she noted.
“Right from the start, we want to ensure that the city and its (142) barangaya are segregating their wastes properly. Success stories, such as those being implemented in Barangay Lagro, Barangays Blue Ridge A and B as well as many other barangays in our city demonstrate how well our system can work. Let us help one another to implement the proper waste management,” she said.
According to Belmonte,the TFSWM and the City Engineering Department have been regularly conducting cleanup and dredging activities respectively to declog the city’s creeks and rivers.
Richard Santuile, action officer, said the city’s waterway cleanup activities are also part of the city’s compliance with the ongoing Supreme Court mandamus on the Manila Bay rehabilitation.
“We started our cleanup activities in January this year and this will continue throughout the year,” he said.
Quezon City is also part of the San Juan River rehabilitation project serving as a complementary effort to the Manila Bay mandamus.