The Iloilo City Environment and Natural Resources Office reported a total of 182 individuals were apprehended in the city for littering. The policy is a result of Regulation Ordinance 2004-149, which penalizes individuals caught littering, urinating or defecating, or creating graffiti in public spaces.

Violators are fined P500 on a first offense, P750 for a second, and P1,000 on a third.

The city is working with both the anti-littering rule while also implementing their Iloilo City Beautification Program.

Earlier this week, City Agriculturist Romulo Pangantihon, who heads the beautification program, revealed there are currently plans to have trash cans installed along the Iloilo River Esplanade and Diversion Road in the city’s Mandurriao district as a means of discouraging the public from littering.

Another aspect of the program includes deploying two trucks to water plants across the city.

The trucks will also focus on the same Mandurriao district sites in response to claims plants had reportedly withered.

“Some people said there was neglect [with regard to] maintenance when, in fact, the plants were destroyed by pests,” Pangantihon explained./WDJ