Manila looking into contractor’s liability over post-New Year garbage build-up

The city government of Manila is looking into the possible liability of the garbage collection contractor for the accumulation of waste after the celebration of New Year, Mayor Honey Lacuna said on Monday.

“Iyan po ang pinag-aaralan natin ngayon. At sigurado pong pananagutin natin kung sinuman po ang nagdulot ng malaking problemang ito,” Lacuna told GMA Integrated News’ Unang Balita in an interview.

(We are studying if the garbage collector has liability. And we will definitely hold accountable whoever caused this big problem.)

According to Lacuna, the contract of the involved garbage collector expired on December 31. But it stopped collecting trash from households and establishments in some areas as early as December 30.

Despite the non-operation of the garbage collector, Lacuna said some affected households and establishments still took out their trash and left them on the streets.

The mayor said a newly-contracted service provider had to catch up and collect the accumulation of trash after New Year, which is four times the amount of the usual daily garbage collection.

“Ako na po ang humihingi ng paumanhin sa naganap na problema sa ating basura. Sa atin pong mga kababayan, sisikapin po namin sa linggong ito ay matatapos po natin lahat ng paghahakot natin sa ating mga natirang basura at babalik na po tayo sa ating regular na paghahakot,” she said.

(I apologize for this problem with our garbage. To my constituents, we will work hard this week to finish all the collection of the remaining garbage and we will return to our regular collection.)

Lacuna said the new garbage collector is already prioritizing establishments as some businesses are already affected by the waste problem.

Meanwhile, she advised residents to go to local health centers if they become ill.—AOL, GMA Integrated News