In the country’s capital, a persistent garbage problem continues to plague residents living near Estero de Vitas in Tondo, Manila, where complaints of an overpowering stench and thick waste clogging the waterway point to a deeper breakdown in the city’s waste and drainage systems.

Norberto Manalad Jr., chairman of Barangay 151 in Manila’s 1st District, whose barangay hall sits beside the Pritil Bridge spanning Estero de Vitas, blamed nonoperational booster pumps that are supposed to flush garbage and stagnant water toward Manila Bay. The pumps, stretching from Estero de la Reina to Estero de Vitas and nearby esteros, form part of a flood-control and drainage enhancement project implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) through its North Manila District Engineering Office.

“Buksan yung booster pump. Kasi di nabubuksan yung booster pump,” Manalad said, explaining that during low tide—particularly in the mornings—waste from neighboring esteros is pushed toward Estero de Vitas while the pumps behind his barangay remain idle. “Yung basura dun, yung kabila doon, binubuksan yung booster pump papunta rito. Yung dito naman sa likod ng barangay, hindi naman binubuksan. So naka-steady yung basura diyan.”

Manalad stressed that neither the barangay nor the local government unit has authority over the pumps’ operation, which he said remains under the exclusive control of the DPWH. Still, when asked whether the burden of addressing the garbage problem ultimately falls on his jurisdiction, he answered without hesitation: “Oo naman.”

Asked about coordination with the DPWH and when discussions were last held, Manalad responded tersely: “Matagal na. Matagal na.”

In the meantime, mitigation efforts have been reduced to stopgap measures. Barangay kagawad Joan Manalad said the Manila local government unit conducts weekly cleanups every Saturday to temporarily ease the buildup. Even so, past operations highlight the scale of the problem: in May 2025, a single cleanup reportedly removed about 400 sacks of mixed waste — an estimated five tons — from the estero.

Chairman Manalad Jr. added that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources previously assigned “estero rangers” to assist with mitigation efforts, but these personnel were later recalled.

“Ang mga taga-DENR, may mga tinalagang estero rangers diyan—talagang everyday nalilinis,” he said. “Bara-baranggay yon. Naglilinis sila by area. Eh ngayon, dito sa akin, inalis na yung estero ranger na tatlo wala na na-aano.”

With the estero rangers gone and cleanup efforts limited to once-a-week operations, barangay officials said the problem ultimately points back to infrastructure that is meant to function but does not. They stressed that the garbage buildup is not merely an issue of discipline or manpower, but of idle machinery — booster pumps that remain unused, trapping waste in Estero de Vitas and allowing the problem to worsen by the day.