14/08/2026
If I may share my insights with the government:
Last year, God exposed the corruption in our country through flooding. We saw how much money was allegedly lost to corruption and how many projects were compromised. But the most painful part was seeing how many lives were put at risk before we fully realized just how deeply corruption had taken hold of our country.
This season, I feel like the Lord is showing us something else: BASURA.
Grabe. Ang dami.
Totoo pala talaga: the waste you throw away eventually comes back to you.
Look at how much garbage has accumulated and how much of it has been carried back to our communities by typhoons and floods. What we casually throw on the streets eventually finds its way back to us.
And looking at this situation, I don't think we can blame the government alone. Totoo rin na may responsibilidad tayong mga mamamayan.
I personally hate seeing people throw even something as small as a candy wrapper onto the street. But how do you educate an entire population of more than 117 million people? It's easy to point fingers at citizens, but are the people really the only ones responsible? What about our education system?
Maybe it's time to remove blame from the equation and focus on the solution.
The government has already started cleanup drives, and that's necessary. But cleanup is only a short-term solution. We need to work on the long-term solution: DISCIPLINE.
And as difficult as it may be to accept, I believe leadership and government have a major role in making this happen.
Here are a few things I would like to suggest:
1. Make basic laws and ordinances part of basic education.
We often hear the principle, "Ignorance of the law excuses no one." But how can we expect people to follow laws they were never properly taught?
With so many laws and ordinances being created, many of them never really reach ordinary citizens.
Why not introduce basic civic rules and laws as part of basic education?
It doesn't have to be complicated. Start with children:
Proper pedestrian and road-crossing practices
Proper use of pedestrian lanes
Proper waste disposal
Recycling
Keeping public spaces clean
Respecting public property
Basic community ordinances
Teach simple rules at a young age. As children grow older, gradually introduce more complex laws and responsibilities.
We don't need to turn every student into a lawyer. We don't need to teach every single law in the country. But we should teach people the laws and responsibilities that directly affect their daily lives.
This is something that can be discussed between the government and DepEd: How do we make basic knowledge of laws and civic responsibility part of growing up?
Because once people know the rules, enforcement becomes much easier.
2. Enforce the law consistently.
If people knowingly violate ordinances, then there should be consequences.
Fines. Community service. Cleaning the very streets, esteros, or public spaces that they helped dirty.
The goal isn't simply punishment. The goal is accountability and discipline.
3. Put ordinances where people can actually see them.
I know many cities and municipalities already have these signs, but perhaps we need more of them and we need them to be more visible.
Instead of public spaces being filled with political faces and political publicity, why not use those spaces to remind citizens of the rules they are expected to follow?
Imagine walking through a public area and seeing:
BAWAL MAGTAPON NG BASURA.
BAWAL UMIHI DITO.
PANATILIHING MALINIS ANG ATING PAMAYANAN.
But here's the problem:
Sometimes you'll see a sign saying "BAWAL MAGTAPON NG BASURA," while the area directly underneath it is overflowing with garbage.
You'll see "BAWAL UMIHI," yet the very spot where the sign is posted smells like urine.
What does that tell us?
It tells us that people have stopped fearing the law because they don't believe there will be consequences for violating it.
And enforcement becomes even more difficult when the people in leadership positions themselves fail to follow the rules.
So perhaps this is not just about garbage.
It's about discipline, education, leadership, enforcement, and accountability.
The people are tired. The people have lost confidence in the government. The people are lost.
Hindi ko sisisihin ang gobyerno, pero bilang gobyerno at bilang mga leader, nasa inyo pa rin ang responsibilidad.
Kayo pa rin ang magsisimula.
You have the power to decide whether we start something the right way and build something that will last, or whether we continue to ignore the problem and allow it to get worse.
And perhaps this is where leadership matters most: not in finding someone to blame, but in having the courage to listen, take responsibility, and start doing something differently.
Mahirap nang magsisihan sa panahon ngayon.
The more important question is: What are we going to do about it now, and how are we going to prevent this from happening again in the future?
Yes, citizens need discipline.
But discipline doesn't happen overnight.
How do we teach it?
How do we enforce it?
How do we model it?
And how do we make it part of our culture?
We can continue cleaning up after every flood, every typhoon, and every disaster.
Or we can start building a generation that understands why throwing garbage anywhere is wrong in the first place.
The solution may take years.
But if we don't start now, we'll still be having the same conversation decades from today.
Let's stop asking who is to blame and start asking what we can do differently.
CTTO Photo
