GOING GREEN FOR A BRIGHTER TOMORROW

Saturday, July 20, 2013

MAJORITY of barangays in Baguio City have not been complying with the city mayor’s administrative order on segregating biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan reported before members of media the poor compliance of the city’s 128 barangays in garbage segregation without maximizing the garbage load needed to operate the Environmental Recycling System machines.

He said around 90 percent of barangays have not been observing proper waste segregation while many remain non-compliant with his earlier directive to bring out trash during collection schedules.

While he said that garbage pickers also help in the collection of recyclable wastes in the barangays by lessening wastes brought to the Urdaneta City Engineered Sanitary Landfill, he stressed the villages have the primary role in enforcing Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

Aside from garbage segregation, he lamented the poor compliance of barangays in collecting garbage fees even if their shares have already been resolved by the city government.

He pointed out the 30 percent share of barangays in garbage fees once they decide to collect from residents in their villages.

Barangays, meanwhile, are required to submit a census of households where they can collect garbage fees of P20 per household.

He added that while the city spends more than P100 million for solid waste management, the City Government is only able to collect not even 10 percent from the households.

Big contributors to garbage fee collections are those from the business sector but he said this high collection is a result of the business community being compelled in paying the fees during business permit renewal and application.

“Their shares in garbage fees may be used in their hiring of constituents in collecting garbage regularly and in enforcing collection schedules,” he said.

The mayor further sais the City Government will have to wait after the October 2013 elections to remind village officials on their obligations as they will be busy campaigning and a probable change of officers will be a hurdle in the implementation of garbage fees.

"We shouldn't waste any more time in making sure that democracy is properly rooted in our political life and the supremacy of the law becomes an integral part of our state's structure."