“And now I've got to explain the smell that was in there before I went in there. Does that ever happen to you? It's not your fault. You've held your breath, you just wanna get out, and now you open the door and you have to explain, 'Oh! Listen, there's an odor in there and I didn't do it. It's bad.”
—Ellen DeGeneres
By Alex P. Vidal
AREN’T we ashamed?
If graft and corruption have given us international humiliation, garbage problem has given us international embarrassment.
Our dignity as a nation has been compromised and continues to ebb owing to these successive crises.
If our elected officials are not accused of plunder and malversation of public funds, they are derided and mocked for incompetence—especially their failure to repair and maintain our drainage system, or for pocketing billions of funds intended for flood control projects.
Trash piled up and clogged the drainage because some irresponsible residents in the squatter colonies also polluted their surroundings and didn’t observe proper disposal of garbages.
Although humiliation is worse than embarrassment because it directly attacks our core dignity and leaves a deep, lasting wound, embarrassment makes us objects of derision.
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Embarrassment can feel bad because it triggers a painful physical and emotional threat response driven by the fear of social judgment and rejection.
Such is the predicament the Philippines is in today following the spread on the internet of videos and photos recently showing a sea of trash clogged drainage systems in Parañaque City, one of the 16 cities comprising Metro Manila.
Although joint clearing operations have significantly reduced the volume of garbage, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has called the garbage situation critical.
Authorities working in the Baclaran channel reportedly cleared roughly 45 truckloads of waste—totaling 500 tons—over just a few days this month.
Trash continued to pile up overnight due to unpredictable wind currents carrying waste from Manila Bay.
As of this writing, cleanup operations remained continuous as discarded plastics block vital water pumps.
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The float heap of garbage, which clogged the Redemptorist Water Channel in Barangay Baclaran, was described by Palace as “truly shocking” even as officials also backed stronger local government penalties for improper disposal by residents and visitors.
Authorities have reported 72 truckloads — about 396.6 metric tons — of waste hauled over three days, with operations continuing using additional equipment including floating backhoes and a trash skimmer, as of August 12, 2026.
Come to think of it: 500 tons of trash is equals 1,000,000 pounds of garbage, which is roughly the weight of 40 to 50 fully loaded municipal garbage trucks.
Exactly 1,000,000 pounds (calculated as 500 tons multiplied by 2,000 pounds per ton). It is about 45 large trucks, if each truck carries an average load of 11 tons.
It is equivalent to one full day of trash generated by a city of about 200,000 people (assuming an average of 5 pounds per person daily).
It actually matches the approximate annual number of debris collected by Baltimore's famous solar-powered trash skimmer, Mr. Trash Wheel, from the harbor each year.
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Why must we worry about our garbage problem? To begin with, garbage is dangerous because it spreads severe diseases, pollutes soil and water sources, and releases toxic gases that harm both human health and the environment.
According to studies, piles of trash create breeding grounds for rats, flies, and mosquitoes.
Health experts have warned that these pests carry and spread dangerous diseases like cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and malaria.
Rainwater passing through trash also reportedly creates a polluted liquid called leachate, which carries heavy metals and chemicals into underground water supplies.
Also, plastics and chemicals break down over time, releasing toxins that kill helpful soil microbes and poison plants and crops.
Rotting organic waste inside landfills also reportedly produces methane and carbon dioxide, which drive climate change. Burning garbage in the open releases poisonous chemicals and smoke that cause breathing and lung problems.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)
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