Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna yesterday criticized the city’s former garbage collector for allegedly abandoning its responsibilities during the busy December holiday season.

“The past Christmas and New Year celebrations caused a 400-percent increase in garbage volume in Manila, which was abruptly abandoned by the former contractor. Because of this, I issued a directive to our new collectors for uninterrupted garbage collection — 24/7,” Lacuna said.

The mayor vowed to hold Leonel Waste Management Corporation and other parties accountable for the uncollected garbage.

“You can be assured that I will not let this act of sabotage go unpunished, and those responsible will be held accountable. As I mentioned earlier, we will fix the negligence of the previous garbage collector. This is why two collectors are now handling waste collection in the city: MetroWaste and PhilEco,” the mayor added.

Lacuna added that the city’s Department of Public Services and Task Force Against Road Obstruction have hotlines where residents can report uncollected garbage.

PhilEco Systems Corporation, the contractor for Districts 4, 5 and 6, reported to City Hall that on 31 December, five garbage trucks were deployed to Altura Market, Trabajo Market, Paco Market, Dagonoy Market, and major roads like Lacson Avenue, España Boulevard, Magsaysay Boulevard and Old Sta. Mesa.

PhilEco said their trucks made five trips to haul away the piled-up garbage but were delayed due to congested roads and the presence of vendors and scavengers.

The company asked City Hall for assistance in clearing the roads leading in and out of public markets and surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, an early morning fire gutted a commercial building in Intramuros, Manila, on Saturday.

According to reports from the Manila Bureau of Fire Protection, the fire broke out at Unit F, A.V.R. Building, Beaterio Street, Intramuros. The incident started at 8:05 a.m. and escalated to the second alarm before being declared under control at 9:10 a.m. the same day.

The fire reportedly originated at Stall Work Corporation, occupied by Fun Trip Travel Tour owned by a certain Jerry Chua. Two structures were reduced to ashes, with damages estimated at P1.5 million.

Fortunately, no injuries or casualties were reported. An arson investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.