The city government of Parañaque is mobilizing all barangays for mandatory weekly clean-up drives, directly implementing a national directive from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to enhance community resilience against flooding.

Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez said the localized BarKaDa program, through “Paraña-CLEAN: Bayanihan sa Kalinisan,” is the city’s enhanced operational response to DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2024-059.

It mandates that every Saturday, starting August 23, 2025, from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. all communities will simultaneously clear critical flood infrastructure.

This urgent initiative responds to the devastating tropical cyclones that struck in July—Crising, Dante, and Emong—and the enhanced Habagat, which flooded low-lying areas, displaced families, and disrupted the local economy.

Olivarez said the DILG memo dated Aug. 20, signed by DILG-Parañaque City Director John Visca, sets the framework for government-led action to a shared community-wide responsibility.

It calls for broad participation to ensure greater impact and foster a culture of preparedness and civic duty.

He said the directive requires all Punong Barangays and local officials to lead and report on synchronized activities, including clearing and cleaning of roads and waterways, declogging of canals and drainage systems, opening and clearing of manholes, and proper disposal of all collected waste.

“Barangays are enjoined to partner with NGOs, private sectors, homeowners’ associations, and community members in the implementation of this program to ensure wider participation and greater impact,” the memorandum read.

The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), with DILG-Parañaque, will deploy monitoring officers.

Each barangay must submit a signed report after every activity via the official portal: https://bit.ly/WeeklyCleanup2025.