MANDAUE City’s post-disaster cleanup operations have now reached the interior sitios, following the completion of clearing activities along major roads, according to City Administrator Gonzalo “Sally” Malig-on.
“We have already reached the inner areas in our cleanup,” Malig-on said. “We’re done with the major roads, and now we’re entering the interior sections. For example, this road in Barangay Paknaan, we expect it to be fully cleared today.”
Malig-on explained that the sight of city personnel actively collecting debris encouraged residents to begin clearing out trash and water-soaked belongings from their homes and small pathways.
“People now know that the city is picking up debris, so they’ve started removing what’s inside their houses and sitios and placing it outside,” he said.
This ongoing participation means debris continues to appear in areas that were already cleared a day before. Malig-on said this phenomenon is understandable, referencing public comments.
“We receive comments saying, ‘This portion of UN Avenue was already cleaned, but there’s trash again.’ So we checked, and it’s because residents are now able to throw out garbage they couldn’t dispose of for several days,” he added.
He described this continuous appearance of debris as a positive sign. “It’s actually a good thing because it means people are now clearing out their garbage. They know the city is collecting it, so they’re taking the chance to remove what was left inside
their homes.”
Malig-on said daily clearing is expected to continue as more debris is brought out.
With the progress made on the main roads, city personnel are now focused on reaching deeper interior areas, having moved past the larger barangay thoroughfares.
“We’ve really penetrated the sitios now,” Malig-on said. “We’re no longer dealing with barangay roads, we’re already inside the sitios.”
Earlier, the City Government has launched a house-to-house validation of flood damage reports to ensure fair and accurate distribution of aid following a recent typhoon. The process, which began on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, prioritizes the hardest-hit barangays of Paknaan and Umapad.
The City Social Welfare Services (CSWS), working alongside barangay officials, is conducting the physical verification by going around sitios to check the actual conditions of residents’ homes and conducting interviews. Malig-on said the process is necessary because initial damage reports — compiled quickly at the height of the typhoon — were “hasty.”
The validation aims to confirm the accuracy of initial reports, particularly those listing fully washed-out homes. Malig-on noted this step is crucial to prevent individuals not genuinely affected from being listed for assistance.
To maintain credibility and avoid bias, CSWS staff are specifically assigned to validate in barangays other than their own. The complete validation across all affected barangays is expected to take two to three weeks.