Philippines: Manila warns of health emergency over mounting rubbish
"Rubbish dumped carelessly is harmful to the elderly, to the sick and to children. Insects that fly over piles of trash can land on the food we eat," Domagoso said in a Facebook broadcast on Monday.He appealed to Manila residents, "If possible, if only just for a while, please delay bringing your trash out. Keep it inside your homes until we normalise the collection of garbage in Manila".He said he hoped the new city council would declare a health emergency as early as Tuesday to give him wider authority to address the rubbish problem.The former teen idol, also known by his screen name Isko Moreno, won the May election, promising to "Make Manila Great Again". On Tuesday morning, he led city authorities in washing down the streets of downtown Manila with water and soap from fire trucks.Domagoso also prioritised cleaning up the city's streets during his first three-year term as mayor that ended in 2022.
While cleaning a monument near city hall in 2019, he accidentally stepped on human excrement on the pavement, underscoring the seriousness of the task at hand.His campaign then was considered largely successful and made him a popular national figure. He tried to parlay this into a presidential campaign in 2022 but he lost to incumbent Ferdinand Marcos Jr.On Monday, Domagoso said two bin collection companies, PhilEco and MetroWaste, had terminated their contracts with the city, since it owes them 400 million pesos ($7m; £5m).Leonel, a previous waste collection contractor, said Manila owed it more than 560 million pesos.But Domagoso said Leonel has agreed to resume collecting rubbish for free after he "begged" them to do so."We continue bathing the streets and we won't stop until the filth is gone," Domagoso wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday, showing photos of freshly washed roads.Domagoso said in a television interview on Tuesday that he expected the waste situation to return to normal in three days.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Trump announces US trade pact with Vietnam
The United States and Vietnam struck a trade agreement that sets 20% tariffs on many of the Southeast Asian country's exports following last-minute negotiations, Donald Trump and Vietnamese state media said on Wednesday. The rate is lower than an initial 46% levy Trump announced in April on goods from Vietnam which was due to take effect next week. Trump said that goods from Vietnam would face a 20% tariff and that any trans-shipments from third countries would face a 40% levy. Details were scarce and it was not immediately clear how the trans-shipment provision would be implemented. Vietnam would also provide the United States with more market access, with US exports to the country facing no tariffs, Trump said. That agreement appears to include US exporters of large-engine cars, according to Trump and Vietnamese state media. 'It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'It is my opinion that the SUV or, as it is sometimes referred to, Large Engine Vehicle, which does so well in the United States, will be a wonderful addition to the various product lines within Vietnam,' Trump said. Vietnamese President Tô Lâm asked in a phone call with Trump earlier on Wednesday that the United States recognize Vietnam as a market economy and remove restrictions on the exports of high-tech products to the country, Vietnam News Agency reported. Those changes have long been sought by Hanoi and dismissed by Washington. Since Trump imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese goods in his first term, US trade with Vietnam has exploded, though almost all of it in the form of goods to the United States from Vietnam as importers sought workarounds for the China levies. Since 2018, Vietnam's exports are up nearly three-fold from less than $50bn that year to about $137bn in 2024, Census Bureau data shows. US exports to Vietnam are up only about 30% in that time – to just over $13bn last year from less than $10bn in 2018. The White House and the Vietnamese trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump announced a wave of tariffs for countries around the world on 2 April, before pausing the implementation of most duties until 9 July. More than a dozen countries are actively negotiating with the Trump administration to avoid a steep spike in tariffs on their exports. The Trump administration has teased that a deal with India is also coming soon, but it has said that others may not be ready by 9 July. Britain negotiated a limited trade deal with the Trump administration, accepting a 10% US tariff on many goods, including autos, in exchange for special access for aircraft engines and British beef. Like the agreement struck with Britain in May, the one with Vietnam resembles more a framework than a finalized trade pact.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Trump announces US trade pact with Vietnam
The United States and Vietnam struck a trade agreement that sets 20% tariffs on many of the Southeast Asian country's exports following last-minute negotiations, Donald Trump and Vietnamese state media said on Wednesday. The rate is lower than an initial 46% levy Trump announced in April on goods from Vietnam which was due to take effect next week. Trump said that goods from Vietnam would face a 20% tariff and that any trans-shipments from third countries would face a 40% levy. Details were scarce and it was not immediately clear how the trans-shipment provision would be implemented. Vietnam would also provide the United States with more market access, with US exports to the country facing no tariffs, Trump said. That agreement appears to include US exporters of large-engine cars, according to Trump and Vietnamese state media. 'It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,' Trump said on Truth Social. 'It is my opinion that the SUV or, as it is sometimes referred to, Large Engine Vehicle, which does so well in the United States, will be a wonderful addition to the various product lines within Vietnam,' Trump said. Vietnamese President Tô Lâm asked in a phone call with Trump earlier on Wednesday that the United States recognize Vietnam as a market economy and remove restrictions on the exports of high-tech products to the country, Vietnam News Agency reported. Those changes have long been sought by Hanoi and dismissed by Washington. Since Trump imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese goods in his first term, US trade with Vietnam has exploded, though almost all of it in the form of goods to the United States from Vietnam as importers sought workarounds for the China levies. Since 2018, Vietnam's exports are up nearly three-fold from less than $50bn that year to about $137bn in 2024, Census Bureau data shows. US exports to Vietnam are up only about 30% in that time – to just over $13bn last year from less than $10bn in 2018. The White House and the Vietnamese trade ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump announced a wave of tariffs for countries around the world on 2 April, before pausing the implementation of most duties until 9 July. More than a dozen countries are actively negotiating with the Trump administration to avoid a steep spike in tariffs on their exports. The Trump administration has teased that a deal with India is also coming soon, but it has said that others may not be ready by 9 July. Britain negotiated a limited trade deal with the Trump administration, accepting a 10% US tariff on many goods, including autos, in exchange for special access for aircraft engines and British beef. Like the agreement struck with Britain in May, the one with Vietnam resembles more a framework than a finalized trade pact.
Reuters
9 hours ago
- Reuters
Thai monetary policy must stay flexible as headwinds build, central bank deputy says
BANGKOK, July 2 (Reuters) - Thailand's economy faces a challenging second half of 2025 due to uncertainty about threatened U.S. tariffs, a central bank deputy governor said on Wednesday, just as the country is caught in a new wave of domestic political turmoil. Under these circumstances, Roong Mallikamas, one of the two candidates short-listed to lead the Bank of Thailand from October, said that the central bank's monetary policy should remain at an accommodative level to support the economy. "We'll see a tailing of the economic growth in the second half of this year mainly due to the tariff effects," Roong told Reuters in an interview. "We do anticipate a marked slowdown in economic activities". "I think basically the tariff effects also magnify... our country's structural problems." Southeast Asia's second largest economy has lagged regional peers since the pandemic, growing only 2.5% last year and forecast to expand by 2.3% in 2025, bogged down by high levels of household debt and tepid consumption. After rate cuts in October, February and April, the Bank of Thailand last week left its key interest rate unchanged. "I think the pause was just to say that this is to assess what we have already taken," she said. "Another issue is how to maximise the remaining policy space that we have." "If the outlook deteriorates, if I were an MPC member, I would not be reluctant to ease," Roong said. The BOT will next review policy on August 13. Thailand faces renewed political chaos after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended from office by the Constitutional Court on Tuesday. The political uncertainty is currently not an elevated concern, with government spending and trade negotiations with the U.S. likely to continue without interruption, Roong said.
