QC set to launch TXT Basura

The Quezon City government is set to launch "TXT Basura," a massive information campaign that would allow residents to get information on garbage collection schedules and report uncollected garbage by just sending text message to the city’s Environment Protection and Waste Management Division (EPWMD).

The TXT Basura program is part of the Clean and Green program being pursued by Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. It will allow residents easy quick access to information on the delivery of basis services to their respective barangays.

Fredireka Rentoy, EPWMD chief, said representatives of SMART Communications is now working closely with her office for the activation of the garbage information campaign.

Belmonte said the city government will use a single special contact number from which the system can be programmed to record the message and then refer them to concerned offices.

The TXT Basura program can also be used in reporting other concerns of citizens such as traffic and other problems that need the attention of the city government.

Apart from the information drive, the city government is also set to re-implement the "Sagip Batis" program, a massive cleanup of waterways, creeks and river traversing the city.

The waterway clearing operation, an annual project of the mayor, involves volunteers at the barangay level who will work with City Hall’s anti-flood unit in removing debris from rivers and creeks.

Last year, Sagip Batis dramatically reduced up to 70 percent the flooding in various parts of the city. – Perseus Echeminada