By RIA FERNANDEZ
MANILA Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada told IPM Construction and Development Corporation, the city’s garbage collector, to fulfill its responsibilities or else he would terminate its services.
The mayor made the warning after his office received numerous complaints about uncollected wastes.
“Etong mga nakalipas na linggo po kasi karamihan po ng natatanggap na reklamo sa kaniyang opisina ‘yung mga hindi nahahakot na basura. Kaya nga po nung isang linggo binigyan niya po ng babala ‘yung ating kontraktor na ayusin ‘yung paghahakot at kung hindi baka ho makansela na ‘yung kanilang kontrata sa Lungsod ng Maynila,” lawyer Ericson Alcovendaz, Manila City administrator and spokesperson, said in a radio interview Tuesday morning.
Based on their monitoring, Alcovendaz found that the contractor failed to meet its obligation to deploy at least 190 trucks and collect garbage on time. “Nilagyan ho natin ng GPS ‘yung mga truck nila para ma-monitor natin kung tama yung oras ng daan nila sa isang barangay at oras ng paghakot ng basura kaya ho nakikita namin na kulang ang kanilang ginagamit,” he said.
Rubbish piled up even more because of the heavy downpour and rough seas during the past weeks, making it impossible to transport them from pier to Navotas landfill, according to Alcovendaz.
“Pero sabi nga po ni Mayor Erap hindi naman dahilan ‘yun nung bagyo para hindi ho mahakot nang maayos ang basura,” he said.
