ALL of Iloilo City’s 180 barangays are susceptible to flooding albeit with varying degrees of susceptibility – very high, high, moderate, and low – according to the Mines and Geoscience Bureau in Region 6. The main cause: the city’s inherent topographical characteristics. It is a lowland area with active river channels, among others. And these are aggravated by siltation and other factors such as the recklessly thrown garbage clogging up the inadequate urban drainage system.
So what can we do to mitigate flooding? Right off the bat, ecological solid waste management (ESWM).
While we cannot do much to alter the city’s geography, we can surely help in mitigating the floods by preventing plastics and other discards, including COVID-related waste such as used facemasks, from spilling into the storm drains and waterways.
The strict observance of Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, in every household and community will avoid garbage from being produced, littered and dumped in streets, vacant lots, esteros and rivers.
RA 9003, the country’s waste law enacted in 2000, promotes waste avoidance and volume reduction, segregation at source, reusing, recycling, composting and other best practices in ESWM excluding incineration. It explicitly bans the dumping of waste materials in streets, canals, esteros and other public places and penalizes such environmental offenses with a fine of P300 to P1,000, or one to 15-day community service, or both.
The honest-to-goodness implementation of waste separation at source, recycling, reusing and composting will not only mitigate flooding woes, but also curb leptospirosis, dengue and other water-borne diseases during the rainy season. The city government should determinedly enforce the salient provisions of RA 9003, including penalizing those who recklessly throw their trash anywhere without any sense of guilt or shame. In short, political will.
