Cleanliness in the Philippines

"clean up your own mess, before you tell others to clean theirs." This is a common saying which i think is the best way to start with. Discipline should start first within our homes. If we only follow the rules of proper disposal of wastes then we could see the big difference. There are cities and other places in the Philippines which are strictly following their ordinances about cleanliness and waste management. Palawan, Marikina, Las Pinas, and Davao are some of the cleanest cities cited in most of Philippine publications.

Oftentimes, a lot of people has motivation. But there are no means available. Take for example the lack of proper disposal procedure. The absence of garbage cans. The overflowing disposal areas. A lot of times, people are not to be blamed. But the system.

yes, i was going to say that myself. this is one of our negative traits --- lack of discipline, and perhaps, too, lack of political will by our leaders.

the problem in our country is the mentality that when you are poor, you have the right to be dirty... To people in our country they live up to the name of a "jologs", in both the way they dress and the way they act... for me, if you are poor, it doesnt mean that you should be dirty, you can be clean in yourself and the way you act even if you are poor! First thing to solve this problem is to eliminate that Jologs mentality, then probably elect a good disciplinarian leader like BF!

Maybe some people here are lazy to clean their surroundings, they are used to do it, as the saying goes, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" we are being taught since we are small children about cleanliness and i think parents should instill in the minds of their children this traits of clealiness not only in their surroundings as well as on their selves.Discipline is all we need.

Actually this problem is only a by-product of not being discipline. I remember one time while riding on a jeepney going back home from church, I saw a mom and her child is eating 'taho' (a local yoguart type of desert) in a plastic cup, after eating, the child no thinking twice threw his empty plastic cup over the road and his mom just watching him as if nothing happens. We can do something about this only if know how to show/teach to our child the importance of discipline in our lives and in our country.

yep. DISCIPLINE IN EVERY ASPECT. discipline in being responsible with the wastes we have. discipline with the number of kids we are able to produce and take care of. discipline in following simple laws about the environment. discipline in everything we do. if we have discipline, philippines will surely be a clean country to live in.

Definitely this kind of problem concerns all which I think every each of us should do there share to resolve this dilemma. One factor is discipline plus another thing is teaching the people how to do make extra effort of recycling things . YOu know what one thing that perplexed me is why Filipino people in other country knows how to discipline there selves and can obey all the rules of that country while here just a simple way of throwing there trash at trash cans takes so much warning and penalty? Is this has something to do with the way our government handle the problem?

i totally agree, cleanliness is really a problem in our country and people are not disciplined. they will just throw trash anywhere soon after they are done with it, and will spit anywhere they feel like it, and it is really disgusting. i wish the government will put a stop to all of these and start a law about those who will be caught doing so.,

i think you're right. discipline is the one thing we need to make our country clean, in all aspects. and probably a good administration and imposition of laws that keep people from throwing garbage wherever. as this might sound general, a bigger picture is actually handling solid waste managment in our country, which practically utilizes a system that is available, which is dumping and composting, but not the more advanced waste disposal and handling methods that other countries use. i wish we could at least on our own little way, find time and care to pick up that one candy wrapper rather than let it gather up to a heap of garbage at the end of the day. good discussion.

I guess that's one of the major problems our country is facing. I think it's the indifference also is one cause of it. I believe many Filipinos are neat/clean in themselves and they are quite conscious that they should clean the places they are familiar with. But when it comes to concern to general cleanliness of her surrounding like in public places we lack the disciplin and the concern. if you try to visit a typical Filipino Home you would find that they are neat and clean themselves but when you watch the surrounding area it's not. I guess we need only to make the general public that it's important to be concerned with everything that surrounds them not only their own personal spaces.

I agree with what you've said that Filipinoes really lack self-discipline. We are not aware of our responsibilities. We don't realized that taking care of our environment is also part of our duties for our country. Often, we think that the government officials are the only one that need to solve these environmental problems. Little did we know that we are part of this one community. Lack of unity is also one of the reasons. We don't care about other people that's why we just throw our garbages on the streets but not in front of our house.

If you'd ask me almost every place here in manila stinks. i think the law is to blame here. we must make the law for littering and we must enforce it in a way to discipline the filipinos. i think singapore did a good job on doing that.

yes your are correct.To get that into effect the government must pass strict orders and impose fine one who will not follow the rules.

Cleanliness is indeed one of the greatest problems in our country. Many people want this problem solved but honestly, I think it's gonna be one hard task to clean up the Philippines. Discipline is the correct way through it but getting the people disciplined is another problem. According to studies, this unclean scenario had already been foreseen in the 1980's but nobody seemed to bother - because we Filipinos indeed have tendencies of being stubborn and undisciplined. So to solve the problem on cleanliness, Pinoys must first struggle for self improvement. I am hoping for such a bright day to come - I am also hoping that we're not doomed.