Days after Super Typhoon #UwanPH battered Dagupan City, piles of trash washed in by floods are now clogging major canals, causing an urgent cleanup effort across affected barangays.

City Waste Management Division teams launched clearing operations immediately in the barangays of Lucao and Pantal after debris and garbage blocked drainage channels.

The volume of waste was so large that workers had to bring in heavy equipment to transfer the trash into dump trucks more quickly.

“Palagi na rin nating nililinis ito. Tinitingnan natin ito kasi may mga madaling magtapon sa creek. Kaya ito po binibigyan natin ng prayoridad na linisin,” Bernard Cabison, sanitation inspector of the City Waste Management Division, said.

Local officials aim to finish the clearing operations within the week to prevent contamination and further blockage.

“Ang isa po, maco-contaminate po ‘yung tubig o kaya ito, babara po siya. Kaya habang maaga po, nililinis na po namin ito,” Cabison added.

The barangay council is also working alongside the city to clear the water channels.

“May mga basura na dinala ng alon, so nag-request tayo sa City Waste Management na tulungan tayo sa paglilinis sa canal kasi doon naipon ‘yung mga basurang galing sa ilog. Gusto lang natin na hindi ito ulit babalik ng ilog,” Marcelino Fernandez, chairperson of Barangay Lucao, said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is likewise conducting cleanup operations along the De Venecia Highway Extension Road, which was also littered with debris.

The Dagupan City government once again reminded residents not to dump waste in creeks and rivers, warning that blocked waterways could worsen flooding in future storms.