J M
- Mother and son were caught by the CCTV throwing their trash into the floodwater.
- They have received their penalty for such misdeed.
A mother and her son were caught in the act of throwing a large amount of garbage into the floodwaters in Caloocan City.
65 year-old Elena Paras and her son Ian, 18, were charged with ₱1,000 each and had to go under 15 days of community service and seminar after violating the Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 in Caloocan.
The incident happened on Tuesday, when the area suddenly experienced heavy rainfall.
They were called by Barangay 67’s chairperson Jenette Manlapig after finding out about what happened.
“Huwag mo kako ako pagtaguan dahil papasundo kita sa mga tanod ko. Pagdating sa kalat na ganyan, nakakairita talaga.”
In the CCTV footage, Elena can be seen throwing a sack of garbage and seven packs of garbage in the flood water. After that, Ian was seen throwing trash from a huge container.
The video was uploaded by a concerned citizen from another area. “Nakita namin na ganoon ang nangyari, pinaanod sa baha ang basura. Hindi naman dapat ginagawa ng isang tao ‘yon,” said the councilor of Barangay 67.
“Ang pagtatapon ng basura ay pagmumulan talaga ‘yan ng baha. Reklamo tayo nang reklamo, tapos sa sarili natin, pasaway naman tayo”
The mother said that the reason why they threw their trash in the floodwater is because the water also started to enter their house. They have admitted to the violation and vowed to never do it again.
“Hindi po namin gagawin ulit. Tutulong na po ako sa paglilinis ng kanal namin.
“Humihingi kami ng kapatawaran sa mga nagalit sa amin sa nag-viral na video.”
According to Edwin Kelley, the sanitary inspector of Caloocan’s City Environment Management Department (CEMD), they are very strict regarding the proper disposal of waste.
“Mahigpit ang batas natin sa pagtatapon ng basura. ‘Pag nahuli kayo namin, walang patawad, huhulihin namin kayo.”
