Mountain of used clothes in Cebu does not pose health threat –mayor

The mountain of used clothes that has attracted crowds at a town in Cebu province does not pose a danger to public health, the mayor said Thursday.

Cordova Mayor Adelino Sitoy also maintained the "ukay-ukay" or used clothes are not for survivors of super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), state-run Philippines News Agency reported.

For several days, the mountain of clothes did not only attract many people but also raised speculations it could have been intended for Yolanda survivors.

The PNA report said the used clothes, sold at a construction yard reportedly as early as December 2013, fetch prices of P5 to P25 each.

Sitoy said he had sent health teams to ensure the clothes do not pose a health hazard as many people go to the area and rummage through the piles.

Meanwhile, the report quoted Cris Vincent Roldan, who is in charge of the ukay-ukay business, as saying used clothes were not part of the donations for Yolanda victims.

But he said his boss Virgilio Pongase donated 1,000 bundles of ukay-ukay worth P1 million to victims of Yolanda and the magnitude-7.2 quake that hit Central Visayas in October.

He pointed out the used clothes were in two warehouses Pongase bought at the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) in Lapu-Lapu City.

Also, he said Pongase had the clothes sold as he could not use them for his construction business. But once the clothes are sold, he said they will resume their construction operations. — LBG, GMA News