Marcos: Community action needed vs pollution, waste

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday directed government officials to focus on cleanliness and orderliness in the country as he called on Filipinos to actively participate in the upcoming National Community Development Day on 6 January.

In a video message posted on Facebook, Marcos urged Filipinos to take ownership of their environment and combat the issues of waste and pollution.

"Our rivers are not dumps, and our seas are definitely not repositories of waste," Marcos said.

"We cannot deploy sweepers who will follow each citizen around and pick up every trash that is thrown," he added.

Marcos also emphasized the need for individual responsibility and action in taking care of the environment, saying that "constructive action will always be better than any app" when it comes to addressing waste concerns.

He also outlined various government initiatives aimed at promoting cleanliness, including awarding incentives to outstanding local government units, launching national competitions and intensifying campaigns against single-use plastics.

Marcos acknowledged that community development goes beyond just environmental concerns. He highlighted other crucial areas such as children's welfare, crime prevention, climate change adaptation, community health and economic development.

"The people in the barangay are the frontliners of the government," he stated. "Therefore, if their work is relentless and without rest, community development should not only be celebrated for a single day throughout the year."

Marcos stressed the importance of bottom-up development, where "programs are developed from the ground up and supported by government at every level."

"Government funds should not slowly drip to the communities (…) and neither must economic progress trickle down to the people who need them most," he added.

Marcos reiterated the core principle of his Build Better More program: prioritizing the most vulnerable and marginalized communities.

He pointed out that the last and the least of society, those who have been left out and left behind, should get the most first.

In conclusion, Marcos said every day must be Community Development Day," reiterating his commitment to a "New Philippines" built on local empowerment, shared prosperity and collective action.