Smoked out
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.MANILA, (AFP) - President Fidel Ramos on Saturday ordered the closure of "Smokey Mountain," a huge garbage dump in Manila which has become a symbol of Philippine poverty.
Speaking to hundreds of residents, including the scavengers who make a living picking through the refuse for scraps to sell, Ramos said the closure and eventual conversion of Smokey Mountain to a housing estate, would become a symbol, "of the renewal and the rebirth and the rise of our nation."
"Today's scar will be tommorow's star," he said.
The open dumpsite, in a slum area of the city, has been in use for 40 years.
It will be replaced by a sanitary landfill set up in the neighboring Cavite province.
Under an ambitious program, the 21.2 hectare (52 acre) garbage dump will be levelled and a low-cost housing project built on the site and made available to some of the scavengers displaced by the dump's closure.
Part of the garbage will be used in a land reclamation project to be set up nearby. The reclaimed land will form part of a manufacturing and commercial complex with rental income used to subsidize the housing project.
For years, Smokey Mountain-- so named due to the smoke from methane fires at the dump -- has been a symbol of the country's underdevelopment. Scores of foreign correspondents have visited the site to document how thousands of Filipinos are reduced to picking through garbage to survive.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments