By SEL A. BAYSA
A 54-year-old technician from Caloocan City the other day learned that the environmental personnel from neighboring Quezon City are apparently serious in their campaign to keep QC clean.
This after fieldmen from the QC Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department (EPWMD) nabbed the litterbug while on the act of dumping garbage at the center island of A. Bonifacio Road near Tagaytay St., in Barangay N.S. Amoranto.
Charged for violating Presidential Decree (PD) 825 was Reynaldo Bacani of 614 Tagaytay St., Caloocan City.
He was collared, after a brief chase, by John Machate and Arsenio Gomez, of the QC EPWMD assigned to oversee illegal garbage dumping activities which is reportedly rampant within the barangay.
Machate and Gomez chanced upon the litterbug while dumping one plastic bag-full of garbage while onboard a motorcycle with plate no. TD 5635.
Elements of the QC Hall Complex Police Office (CHCPO), led by P/Superintendent Elmo San Diego, filed the complaint before QC Prosecutor Ferdinand Tamaca who recommended a bail of P
2,000 for Bacani’s provisional liberty.
In commending the two EPWMD men, Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. described the arrest " a clear indication that the city government is implementing a "no-nonsense campaign" in enforcing all environmental laws to ensure a cleaner environment for QC residents to live in."
As the mayor puts it, "Sa QC, gusto nating ipakita na seryoso tayo sa lahat ng ating mga kampanya sa kalinisan at hindi isang ningas-cogon lang" (The QC government wants to prove that we mean business in enforcing laws notably those involving cleanliness).
