A Bad Habit That Will Cause You A Fortune
Bad habit on the Metro Manila had proven itself that it's really B-A-D
Who would think that a candy wrapper can cost you at least 500 pesos?Starting today, September 16, 2010, The Metro Manila Development Authority is re-implementing the suspended law, the Regulation Number 96-009 or the Anti-Littering law which was suspended on Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s regime on 2003.
The MMDA will issue a receipt as fine for violators, the ticket will cost five hundred to one thousand pesos. Violators who cannot pay the fine can do community service like cleaning a sidewalk of public urinals.
Currently the Metro Manila through the agreement of the city council decided to re-implement the said law after their regular meeting last September 8, 2010. This law was first approved on August 1996 by the Metro Manila council.
According to the MMDA: "Under the law, violators are issued an EVR (Environmental Violation Receipt ), with corresponding fines ranging from P500 to P1,000 and community service for those who cannot afford to pay the administrative fines," .
This Anti-Littering Law, amended by MMDA Regulation Number 99-006, prohibits littering, dumping, and throwing of garbage or any kind of waste in open or public places.
This also requires establishments, either public or private, to maintain the cleanliness of their frontages and adopted areas.
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said MMDA Health, Public Safety, and Environment Protection Office (HPSEPO) personnel and deputized environmental police will start the implementation on September 16 this year metro-wide.
"We will be going around the LGUs and conduct information and education campaign for public awareness before we start our actual apprehension," The MMDA chairman said, in his desire to inform the city before the actual reimplementation of the law.
According to the MMDA records, from January of 1999 to July of 2002, the agency apprehended a total of 222,956 violators, 1,583 of whom rendered community service, while 20,943 cases were filed in different metropolitan trial courts. And that twelve million was collected from administrative fines from these violators.
Earlier on abs-cbn news, the MMDA team had already conducted to apprehend the violators. As expected, many are shocked. 500 pesos is really a lot of money especially for a regular working person, much more for the unemployed. Littering on the metro had really became a very expensive habit, a bad habit made worst.
This has been the effort of the metro to keep the area clean, far from pest that carries sickness and to avoid clogging of canals and water ways.
It’s a little harsh and brutal asking for a person to pay a five hundred pesos fine even for someone like me who have a regular (high paying? naaah) job. But I want it to be implemented here on our city too.
How about you my dear readers, would you also want this law to be implemented on your city /town?
Please do care to give your comments below.
Anti-littering ordinance is just another way for MMDA to extort money from the unsuspecting public, esp. the pedestrian masses. First, there were no info drive on the matter. Second, there are no signs that says NO LITTERING much less about the fines. Third, the MMDA people will be preying on the poor Filipinos, mostly students, who have barely enough money to survive. Finally, it is idiotic to apprehend the poor Filipinos for throwing a candy wrapper or a cigarette butt while corporations and the squatter communities pour massive amounts of waste into Metro Manila's canals and rivers.
ReplyDeleteHi J. Ashley
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would like to thank you for dropping by.
And I would like to say that I hear you, but we are talking about the mere law here, city ordinance if it is. Saying that bad enforcer will just take advantage of this is like saying that we shouldn't have police, traffic enforcer or a president too.
Sure there will be someone who will try to abuse his authority over this, but that's another story.
What this law said is that littering is illegal, and violators are given an option to render community service if he can't pay the fine.
"No Littering" that's the only thing this law is all about, and I don't see anything wrong with that.
But that's quite and insight of yours, thanks again.
hope to see someone like you here more often.
I hope the anti-littering law will be implemented all over the country. I can always see undisciplined people throwing their trash anywhere. It's difficult to tell these people to keep their trash in their pockets. At least, if it's a law everybody will follow.
ReplyDeleteLet us love the earth! It's our only home.
Definitely yes! As my spouse would say "Kapag nagalit si Mother Nature walang magagawa si Mother Earth". Funny but true, we need stricter and consistent implementation of this law. It is a fact that the biggest contributor of waste problem are those living near rivers and our government must work fast in finding an alternative for plastics.
ReplyDeleteAna M
I agree that this law has a very good purpose. However, let us consider how this law is to be implemented. First, MMDA should scatter visible trash cans around the metro (just like how they scatter themselves nowadays.) I can't imagine putting a cigarette butt on my pocket.. hehe Second, they should not just stay on one place e.g. LRT stations, mall entrances, bus stops... etc. just like on my first statement... SCATTER! Third, where will the fines of 500pesos & 1000 pesos go? this should be transparent...
ReplyDeleteI am not against this law, but the fines does not fit the crime or even if it does I don't trust those hooligans... (You can't blame me for not trusting them either) hehe :)
i would like to issue a public apology...i was part of a group that provided confetti last aug 24, 2012 during sec. jessie robredo's funeral parade from the airport to the malacanan palace...a gesture of respect that at first seemed harmless but upon deeper analysis, revealed how easy it is for us to sacrifice mother nature...i saw how public school kids and members of my own institution (who were lined up waiting for sec jessie's remains) littered a section of roxas blvd...and interestingly, the same area that saw the barrage of garbage during the recent habagat episode...in fairness to the pnp, they saw the confetti we brought and reminded us of the city ordinance on littering...shame on me...
ReplyDeleteThis is admin.
ReplyDeleteat anonymous above, we felt your sincerity.
you're right, that's why if you see canals, rivers, or water-under-the-bridge that is full of garbages thrown by stupid slash heartless slash and barbaric people, you can safely say "I'm not guilty".
I hope that the DepEd can create a separate subject dedicated on nature and surrounding caring.