President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday acknowledged that the country appears to be facing a waste crisis, particularly in Metro Manila, as he inspected the “sea of garbage” at a reclaimed area of Manila Bay in front of Baclaran Church in Parañaque City.

In an interview, Marcos said imposing fines on people for improper waste disposal would not be enough if there were no trash bins or proper facilities where they could dispose of their garbage.

“The problem sometimes is ‘walang basurahan, walang paglalagyan ng basura’ (there are no trash bins). Look at a country like Japan. They don’t just throw their garbage anywhere; they keep it in their pocket and throw it away at home because there is a very good system for picking up their garbage,” he said.

“People are aware that they will be fined, and no one wants to be fined. But they also need facilities where they can throw their garbage. It’s as simple as that,” he added.

Asked whether the massive accumulation of garbage on the waterway could be considered a garbage crisis, Marcos replied: “It certainly is.”

“Just look at it. Does that look critical to you? It does to me. So, yes. We will not call it a garbage crisis, but that’s the problem we are facing,” he said.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon said the cleanup of the waterway would continue until the reclaimed area is completely cleared of waste.

The “sea of garbage” was discovered Monday, with household waste, plastic bottles, styrofoam boxes, and other discarded materials covering almost the entire waterway.

Waste-to-energy initiatives

Marcos, meanwhile, said a proposed waste-to-energy project could help address the country’s waste collection problems but acknowledged that establishing such a system would not be easy.

“It’s not so easy to do because we have to put the system together, although we have done it before. In terms of the technical side, that is done. Now, what we are trying to do is to put the system together. What is the relationship between the LGUs and the waste-to-energy plant, where the locations are, and which group is actually going to come in? As I said, they are already auctioning, maybe in a couple of months,” he said.

He said the government was also working out the logistics of the facilities.

“The amount of energy (to be produced) and at what rate. It’s a new system that we really have to put in place. We may begin to see it in a year or a year and a half. We will push it as quickly as we can, certainly,” he added.

Last May, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 9157, or the proposed “Waste-to-Energy Act,” a measure aimed at addressing the country’s worsening garbage problem and recurring flooding through modern waste-to-energy technologies.