Singapore-bound Litterbug Held at NAIA for Past Violation at MRT Guadalupe Station
Reuters file photo
MAKATI CITY – For failing to pay the P500 fine after he improperly disposed of a cigarette butt in Guadalupe, Makati two years ago, a seaman bound for Singapore was held at the airport departure concourse.
The name of Raul Samson popped up in the alert list of the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on Friday.
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said that Samson, a seaman, was apprehended sometime last week at the airport after he had failed to settle his fine for violation of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
The Anti-Littering Law prohibits littering, dumping, and throwing of garbage or any kind of waste in open or public places.
In her report submitted to Tolentino, Betty M. Gendeve, MMDA chief health program officer, said that Samson was apprehended on April 25, 2013 by Nieves Bunag, a deputized MMDA environmental enforcer after he improperly threw a cigarette butt at the Metro Rail Transit system (MRT) EDSA-Guadalupe station.
The MMDA said a case for violation of Republic Act 9003 (Solid Waste Management Act) or for anti-littering, was filed against Samson before a Makati Metropolitan Trial Court after he failed to settle his liability within the prescribed period.
Samson was stopped by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after being informed that an arrest warrant had been issued against him by the Makati Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 67.
Makati City MTC Branch 67 Judge Jackie Crisologo Saguisag issued the arrest order last October 8 after Samson failed to appear in court for his arraignment hearing.
Due to non-settlement of his violation within the prescribed period of settlement, MMDA pursued the filing of the case.
Upon the recommendation of the prosecutors’ office, the court issued the warrant of arrest against him.
On April 6, Samson appeared at the MMDA office to pay the administrative fine of P500.
Rose Blay, MMDA senior health program officer, said that, although Samson had paid the fine, the Makati MTC Branch 67 still held a hearing of his case last April 15, where the MMDA manifested that it is no longer pursuing the case against Samson.
Blay said that Samson should be able to leave for Singapore on April 24.
Blay explained that a litterbug apprehended by the MMDA is given three days to pay the P500 fine or render community service from the time of his apprehension. Should the litterbug fail to settle the fine or render community service within three days, the MMDA will then directly file the case with the metropolitan trial court where the apprehension happened.
After the case is filed in court, Blay said, the apprehension report is then sent by the court to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) which then places the name of the litterbug on an immigration alert list.
“They (litterbugs) should just not simply dismiss being apprehended by our environmental enforcers,” said Blay.
Under the law, violators are issued an EVR (Environmental Violation Receipt ), with corresponding fines ranging from P500 to P1,000 and community service for those who cannot afford to pay the administrative fines.
According to the MMDA, many of those nabbed and issued “Environmental Violation Receipts” by MMDA enforcers were caught in the act of throwing candy wrappers and cigarette butts on the streets.
The MMDA says garbage thrown in the streets often end up clogging waterways or esteros, and cause flooding.
MMC Regulation Number 99-006 was approved by the Metro Manila Council in 1996. It prohibits littering, dumping, and throwing of garbage or any kind of waste in open or public places. It also requires all business establishments, public or private, to maintain the cleanliness of their frontages and immediate surroundings.