300 tons of garbage cleared from Baclaran estero after heavy rains

Around 300 tons of garbage have been cleared so far as of Tuesday from the Baclaran estero in Parañaque City, after continuous heavy rains caused waste to build up in the waterway.

In a “24 Oras” report by Raffy Tima, authorities said they have been hauling garbage for two days and have already filled over 50 trucks. Authorities utilized a floating trash boom towed by a dredger to clear the waterway.

On Tuesday morning, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon inspected the area and stated that the situation illustrates the severity of the country's waste problem.

“Nung nag-high tide, dinala lahat. So halo-halo na ‘yung basura, all over. Ang malungkot lang, ang sabi sa akin ng Parañaque City government, first time 'to nangyari na ganito,” Dizon said.

(When the high tide came, it brought everything in. So the trash mixed together, coming from all over. What’s sad is that the Parañaque City government told me this is the first time it has ever been this bad.)

“Ipinapakita lang talaga na grabe na talaga ang sitwasyon ng basura natin. Talagang ako, sasabihin ko na garbage crisis na talaga ’to,” he added.

(It really shows how dire our waste situation has become. Personally, I would go so far as to call this a garbage crisis.)

While a large volume of trash remains visible in the estero, the report noted that the situation has actually improved — much of the waste submerged at the bottom has already been removed, leaving mostly floating debris to be collected.

Residents living near the estero said they have never seen this much trash in the waterway before, including Clarita Medina, who has been a vendor in Baclaran since 1979.

“Nagulat na lang kami, pumapasok na ‘yung mga dumi. Galing ho sa dagat 'yan,” Medina said.

(We were shocked when the waste started washing in. That came from the sea.)

She added that despite having experienced numerous typhoons and Southwest Monsoons (Habagat), this is the first time she has seen the estero completely filled with garbage.

For its part, the Parañaque City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) admitted it was surprised by the sheer volume of trash from Manila Bay that accumulated in the Baclaran estero.

“This time sobra. Nasira ‘yung trash trap,” CENRO Officer-in-charge Bernie Amurao said.

(This time, it was too much. The trash trap was damaged.)

“Sa ngayon talaga, dumami…ang atin lang naman, hindi lang dito sa Parañaque ’yan, galing sa Manila Bay, so maraming factor na pinanggalingan,” he added.

(It really surged this time... and it’s not just from Parañaque; it came from Manila Bay, so there are many contributing sources.)

According to local authorities, the Baclaran estero actually has two trash catchments designed to block garbage coming from Manila Bay.

However, the first catchment at the outer section of the estero was destroyed by strong waves, while the second had been temporarily removed before the heavy rains for scheduled dredging operations.

In Tima’s report, he noted that during the peak of the buildup over the past few days, the trash was so thick that someone could walk on it. He added that the fragmented appearance of the debris suggests it had been floating at sea for a long time or likely originated from distant locations.

Personnel from the DPWH, CENRO, and the MMDA had to wade into the estero to manually clear the garbage.

“E, hanggang dito sa tuhod po. E, lumulubog po kami sa putik, sobrang libag pa ng tubig, tapos maraming debris na tumutusok,” said Ronnie Rodriguez, a member of the Parañaque Task Force.

(It goes up to our knees. We sink into the mud, the water is extremely filthy, and there’s a lot of sharp debris sticking out.)

Sanitation workers collecting the trash said they are taking Doxycycline to protect against leptospirosis, explaining that rain boots and waders are ineffective due to the depth of the waste. — Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/BAP, GMA News