THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said they only collected five truckloads of garbage as people trooped to the cemeteries to visit their departed loved ones for the traditional observance of All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) last week.
Francis Martinez, MMDA Metro Parkway Clearing Group head, said the agency only compiled data from six major cemeteries this year compared to the 26 cemeteries, where they conducted clearing operations last year.
The agency collected only 14.88 tons of garbage this year compared to the 916.38 tons or 161 truckloads of garbage in 2016, he said.
Garbage was collected in six cemeteries during Undas: North Cemetery, South Cemetery, San Juan, Bagbag, Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina and Libingan ng mga Bayani in Tagiug.
The MMDA collected styro foam, various paper waste, plastic cups, baskets for flowers and dried flowers, among other waste materials.
The MMDA also said no untoward incident was reported during the occasion.
The MMDA concentrated in areas near the four major cemeteries in the metropolis: Manila North Cemetery, Manila South Cemetery, Loyola Memorial Park and Manila Memorial Park.
Martinez said the local government units were responsible for cleaning inside the cemeteries, while they only collected garbage outside the cemeteries.
“We also saw that visitors brought their own trash bags for their garbage,” he added.
The agency’s personnel were pulled out on November 2 after deploying them on October 27 in different cemeteries.
He also observed there were still many informal settlers living inside the various cemeteries in the metropolis.