Already reeling from mounting criticisms about its failed flood control program, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority faces another big problem posed by the growing piles of uncollected garbage along streets all over the metropolis in the aftermath of tropical storm “Ondoy.”

Streets of Metro Manila, particularly those in the cities of Pasig City, Makati, Manila and Marikina are filled with fallen tree branches, other debris and garbage, prodding MMDA cleanup workers to work double time.

Thursday, the cleaning operations concentrated on the Marikina City Market where MMDA workers removed about 50 tons of debris and mud to bring some semblance of normalcy in the area.

The Marikina City Market, recently adjudged as the cleanest in the metropolis, is the only market in the country with its own food laboratory that tests all food items being sold.

“All items here were soaked in flood water and mud. We are giving priority to cleaning up the market to ensure that all food items are safe and clean for public consumption,” said MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, who was once Marikina mayor.

The MMDA teams are also moving its cleanup operations to Provident Village which was the hardest flood-hit area in Marikina. The teams are expected to clear around one kilometer of roads where damaged and stalled vehicles, roughly estimated at 150, will be stacked.

Stink has started to emanate from the area, coming from animal corpses and piles of garbage. Garbage haulers will be dispatched to speed up the cleaning, Fernando said.

The main priority of the cleaning operations is the washing away of thick mud on the roads as it hampers the relief process.

Fernando made an appeal to the Solid Waste Collectors Association of the Philippines (SWACAP) to immediately collect and haul away tons of garbage, especially during flooding, in order to prevent the spread of diseases among victims.

After Provident village, the cleaning operations will continue at Sumulong and Malanday, also in Marikina City, and go all over the metropolis.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila’s only remaining town, Pateros, reported that it is running out of relief goods, prompting Mayor Joey Medina to plead for support. Most of the small town on the edge of Laguna de Bay also remains under water.

“I appeal for your kind assistance to help the affected families in Pateros. We need food, drinking water, and clothes,” he said.

“More importantly, we need financial assistance to purchase the needed medicine for the infirmed evacuees and also to avoid the spread of diseases common in these crowded areas,” Medina stressed.

Medina noted that the murky floodwater covering the town’s streets has remained stagnant and is slow in receding. “We fear that it might take a month before it returns to normal.”

He further expressed concerns that the national government has apparently “forgotten” Pateros amid the rescue and relief efforts being conducted in other flood-stricken areas.

"My constituents are asking why Marikina, Pasig and Cainta are the only ones being mentioned when we here in Pateros are running out of resources. We are the poorest local government of Metro Manila.”

Practically all 10 barangays of Pateros were washed down by flood as tropical storm Ondoy battered the metropolis over the weekend. The worst-hit areas are those along Santo Rosario and Santa Ana rivers.

Six of its barangays, namely Sta. Ana, San Roque, Rosario Silangan, Kanluran, Martirez and Tabacalera were still flooded as of Tuesday, affecting some 4,500 families.

Flood in those villages range from waist-deep to neck-deep, the mayor said.