MANILA, Philippines?Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to strictly implement laws on environmental protection in the light of the massive floods that hit cities in Metro Manila and parts of the Rizal province and southern Tagalog.

Moreno, in a statement, said on Sunday that the effects of environmental abuse were glaring in the aftermath of tropical storm Ondoy.

He called for a deeper look into what environmental authorities have been doing to stop abuses.

The vice mayor criticized Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, a former Manila mayor, for his tirades against the flooding at the Quezon underpass in Quiapo.

Atienza, Moreno said, had been claiming that the Quezon underpass was never flooded when he was still mayor.

?In the first place, was there ever a (storm) as strong as Ondoy during his incumbency? The worst to hit the city then was Milenyo, which brought more wind than rain,? Moreno pointed out.

The vice mayor, who has been taking part in cleanup efforts, boasted that the usual catch basins in Manila, particularly the Quezon underpass and the Lagusnilad in Taft Avenue, were cleared of water at a faster pace.

He stressed that Lagusnilad was open to traffic in 18 hours while the Quezon underpass was ready for use 30 hours after Ondoy struck.

Moreno said that Manila had a low number of wounded and dead at the height of Ondoy?s rampage.

He further appealed, ?I hope politicians would stop using calamities and disasters for their own selfish interests. This is no time for politicking.?

The vice mayor urged all groups to work together in easing the impact of storms and typhoons.