Paranaque hits Taguig over ‘trash talk’

Parañaque City has accused Taguig of reneging on their agreement to take turns cleaning up a deteriorating area on their boundary which they both have disowned.

Now, instead of a verbal agreement creating the so-called Parañaque-Taguig friendship road, the Parañaque City government is seeking to put the deal in writing as soon as possible with a memorandum of agreement (MOA).

"Hopefully, by early next week we would have the MOA ready," said Parañaque Mayor Joey Marquez’s spokesman Danny Santillan.

This, after Marquez was quoted as being "very, very disappointed" over Taguig Mayor Freddie Tinga’s failure to keep his end of the bargain. Marquez was reportedly informed about Taguig’s failure to keep its word by his garbage collection officials whose counterparts allegedly admitted the failure.

Under the deal, reached during a Nov. 12 meeting sought by Tinga, Parañaque would take the first turn cleaning up the area for one week. Taguig would do the same, the following week.

The area covers the east service road of Bicutan from Sitio Malugay in San Martin de Porres to the Bicutan Market, Bagong Tanyag and Gen. Santos road.

Parañaque said it kept its word but Taguig, which was supposed to take its turn last week, did not.

"They are not cleaning the area nor removing the vendors," complained Santillan. Santillan said Taguig appeared not to have enough dump trucks to collect the accumulating garbage.

Taguig’s Clean and Green beautification department head Lito Mendez, on the other hand, denied the accusation.

Mendez said they have men detailed in the area and are doing their part. He said, though, that they cannot maintain 100-percent zero garbage.

The two city mayors have also agreed to form a task force that would manage the vendors and the traffic in the area while a study of their boundaries is under way.

Tinga earlier sought the meeting with Marquez when traffic congestion worsened in the area. The two local governments are tossing responsibility for the area to the other.

Taguig insists that area is within Parañaque which Parañaque disputes.

Taguig said that evidence of Parañaque’s juridisction over the area is the fact that the latter’s Police Community Precinct 3 is located there.

This fact was not contradicted by Parañaque.

Superintendent Agapito Pelaez, chief of the police station when reached over the phone by reporters, claimed that the uncollected trash belonged to Taguig residents.

This was in conflict with the Taguig government’s allegation that the mounting trash was from Parañaque residents.