By Jodi Bustos
Eagle News Service
Keep the toilets clean.
This was the advice of Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada to the stall owners in the newly renovated Quinta market in Quiapo, saying that in general, the city will not be able to “bring back its old beauty and glory if the residents are irresponsible and lack genuine concern.”
“In Metro Manila, (it is) only here in Manila (where the) toilets in public markets are airconditioned. Hindi kamukha n’ung araw, pupunta kayo sa toilet, malayo pa ay naaamoy niyo na,” Estrada said.
The mayor said he thought of making the toilets air-conditioned because of his late mother.
He reminisced how his mother, Dona Mary Ejercito, scolded him for leaving their toilet dirty.
“ She’d tell me that cleanliness starts in the toilet,” he went on to say, noting the disciplined vendors in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore.
“Ang kailangan nalang natin ay yung maintenance. Dito tayo mahina, e. Sa umpisa lang tayo magagaling, pagkatapos ay napapabayaan lang natin,” Estrada said.
The and renovated toilets are part of the P150-million renovation of the public market in Quiapo.
The rehabilitation also includes the construction of a nearby fish port, and later a ferry terminal nearby.
