Aguilar calls on Las Pineros to keep cemeteries clean this Undas

Las Piñas City Mayor Vergel ‘Nene’ Aguilar directed the city’s environmental sanitation office (ESO) to strictly implement Ecological Waste Management Act that prohibits and penalizes litterbugs as he appealed to the public for a plastic-free observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

Aguilar issued the directive as he convened the councils on Clean and Green, local Peace and Order and the local Disaster Risk Reduction Management to draft action and contingency plans on peacekeeping in anticipation of a huge throng of crowd to deluge the cemeteries during “Undas” (November 1 and 2).

Under Republic Act 9003, the law providing for an ecological waste management program, litterers will face penalty between P300 to P1,000 or render community service in the local government unit where the act was committed, or be required to pay both fine and render community tasks.

The mayor also ordered the mobilization of law enforcers and barangay tanod (village watchmen) to ensure safety and order in two public cemeteries, located in Brgy. Manuyo I and Brgy. Pulang Lupa, and the Golden Haven Memorial Park.

“Said plans contain strategies to be carried out by both the police and barangay contingents before, during and immediately after Undas, to ensure a secure, peaceful and clean and orderly observance of religious holidays,” Aguilar said.

He appealed to the public to perform the traditional paying homage to the dead without turning the graveyards into dumpsite of litters and trash. He urged them to avoid the use of plastic materials for food and as carry out bags, reminding them that these hallowed grounds deserve utmost respect.

The ESO will put up additional garbage bins for segregated wastes in accessible strategic areas inside and around the vicinity of the cemeteries for the public to properly dispose of and segregate their garbage which is expected to reduce in volume this year.

For overall security, police assistance centers (PACs) will be established in the cemeteries to enhance police visibility and minimize security related concerns, at the same time ensuring protection of the entire city.

Meanwhile, Aguilar reiterated his call for vigilance among the residents, particularly in private villages and subdivisions, by intensifying precautionary measures to secure their properties during the duration of Undasas criminal elements may take advantage of the long weekend. (END)