Some thirty tons of garbage were hauled from the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex as members of the Manila city government on Tuesday (July 28) cleaned and conducted flushing operations where thousands of individuals hoping to avail of the government's Hatid Tulong program are stranded.
Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso ordered the Department of Public Services (DPS) to clean the complex inside and out, paying special attention to comfort rooms.
Domagoso said this was their way of helping the national government.
He also appealed to those staying inside the Rizal stadium to be mindful of their surroundings and trash disposal practices.
"Mga kababayan, buong kababaang loob po akong nakikiusap sa inyo, maging responsable po tayo sa pagtatapon ng ating mga basura (My countrymen, I humbly plead that you be responsible with your trash disposal)," he wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
"Isilid po natin ang mga kalat at itapon po natin ito sa mga nakatalagang basurahan sa lugar (Let us keep our trash and dispose of it at the designated areas)," he added.
Around 8,000 locally stranded individuals (LSIs) flocked to the sports complex to avail of the government's Hatid Tulong program from July 25 to 26 so they can return to their provinces amid quarantine restrictions.
However, due to the huge number of LSIs that turned up, the government failed to transport them all within the given time period and thousands remain stranded in the complex.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said they aim to transport around 2,000 LSIs back to their provinces by Thursday.