DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte seeks to check whether or not city hired traffic enforcers have acquired lung diseases as they work in the streets as she acknowledged an observation that jeepney drivers are most prone to tuberculosis.
In her speech yesterday during the kick-off celebration of the Philippine Clean Air Month and National Environmental Awareness Month Celebration, she gave a trivia that jeepney drivers have high cases of tuberculosis because of their work since they tend to inhale smoke in the streets.
"I have to check with our City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) personnel if they too have the same disease because they are always on the streets," she said.
Duterte-Carpio urged everyone to do their part in maintaining the vehicles to prevent it to contribute pollutants in the air.
She also advised the public to limit the use of private vehicles and instead use public transportation or bike or walk to school and work. She reminded the public that burning of solid waste is prohibited and that barangays should utilize their materials recovery systems.
The city mayor yesterday received the "Clean Air Champion award from Clean Air Philippines Movement, Inc. after the same agency also declared the city as” Clean Air City".
Dr. Michael Aragon, chairperson of the Clean Air Philippines Movement Inc., said that before giving the award, the Clean Air Philippines Inc, went around the country and made a survey on the ambient air quality levels of cities throughout the country and they found Davao City to be very clean compared to Metro Manila.
"We made further investigation and we discovered that Davao made programs and implemented programs pursuant to the Clean Air Act of 1999. This mayor na napusuan namin as clean air champion did her duty with her due diligence to support the Clean Air Act of 1999,” Aragon said.
Aragon said that aside from Davao City they will also declare Iloilo City as clean air city soon, as they found that they are also able to comply with the Clean Air Act of 1999.